Prince of Braves, Zero's Familiar
by Ryu Gabriev
Summary: FIC HAS BEEN DISCONTINUED PENDING A FULL RESET. Thanks to all who still found this story enjoyable, and I hope you are still willing to give me a chance again with the reset Prince of Braves, once I start putting it into chapters. Thanks again for your patronage.
1. Chapter 1: The Prince Arrives

Prince of Braves, Zero's Familiar

Disclaimer: All persons, objects or series belong to their creators and this work in no way is meant to profit off of them. Just a simple author enjoying his hobby for others to read in a free world.

~Speech~: Wi-fi transmission

'_Speech'_ :Thoughts

"_Speech"_: Language not understood by everyone

"_**Speech**_": Audio Speaker Output

Chapter Revised- 3/3/2014

* * *

The Prince's Arrival

* * *

Just another day with nothing interesting to do. Might as well dust off that story idea I was working on. Moving to my computer desk I load up Firefox and hit the ol' Google Docs to get started. _Which should I work on, _Slayers Galaxy _or _Prince of Braves_?_ After thinking about it for a second, I slid the mouse cursor toward the newer of the two ideas and opened up the file.

_The Prince of Braves._

An SI I had been fine tuning for the better part of six months, I came up with the idea during one trip to the little Plasma Clinic I frequented for my small cash flow. Jobs weren't that easy to come by in the summer of 2010, so it was either drain vital bodily fluids or knuckle down to work on the house repairs that my folks wanted me to do for them. In the end, I figured it was easier to lose water through blood rather than sweat it out in the Texas heat.

I wasn't real pleased with the finale of GaoGaiGar FINAL, what with the GGG left stranded in a slowly collapsing ES Window and no way out for them; so I did what any true kid in an adult's body would do: try to help them out somehow. The idea then quickly evolved into an SI, given that my current life - like any other geek's - was amazingly boring. Many, many times I wished for some sort of excitement to happen, knowing full well what I was asking for and hoping for it all the same. What was the point of living if you didn't risk it once in awhile?!

Anyway, what I had come up with sounded something like this: After Kaidou and Mamoru had both been sent on their way, the GGG weren't just gonna lay down and die, so they tried to see if they could get a message out of the ES window to regular space. They manage it, just not in _their _home dimension, savvy? The message, in the form of a fragment of G-Crystal, reaches our Earth and is quickly discovered by the American Government. Experimentation reveals the abilities contained within the Infinite Information Circuit, along with plans, messages and coordinates to the ES window so that the other side can attempt a rescue.

But the type of person that could resonate with the fragment is hard to come by, so state-by-state members of the committee assigned to uncover the G-Crystal's secrets, a group soon calling themselves G-Command, head out to see if anyone from the population can get the stone to work. As this is an SI, when they reach the Lone Star State, they find me, Ryu Gabriev!

That's not really my name - Lord knows I wish it was - but with the whole madness from ID thieves all about, an alias seemed prudent to make for this tale.

Anyway, I somehow manage to get the little rock from space to pump out more energy than anyone else so far, so I'm asked to help them out with a little 'experiment'. That's when it all goes a bit sour. During the experiment, which would prove ES Space exists by harmonizing a section of our space to match thus forming an opening, the equipment malfunctions slightly and emits waves that harmonize with my bone structure instead, shattering my entire skeleton into powder.

After the accident, the research scientists use some of the plans on the crystal fragment to craft a special bionic skeleton for me. Once the surgery is complete, they reveal the nature of the experiment, and wonder if I may be willing to assist them still, despite the accident. I agree, and the research commences...only to be derailed by something else.

An armada from space suddenly makes it's appearance, attacking several major cities around the globe. Calling themselves the Krix'ar, they demand Earth's surrender, and begin sending attack craft to the surface when we refuse. G-Command quickly uses the crystal to develop a weapon to fight the invaders, but since supplies are scarce, they can't build a Giant Robot. Instead, they scale it down.

The 3-G Variable Terrain Assault Armor. My version of GaoGaiGar.

What would it take to be someone like that, I wonder? Someone who could actually inspire others to do good in the world by example? An actual hero, for the modern age? I stretched in my computer chair before adjusting my posture for more comfort as I continued to look at the lines of text before me. I sighed before shaking my head to clear it of the mental clutter. Only in stories am I ever gonna see any kind of action like that. I leaned back in the chair, closed my eyes, and tucked my arms underneath my head so I could relax more comfortably.

Moments later, an odd sound cut through the air behind me, causing me to turn my head upside down to look. A bright, green oval, of all things, was in the space between my chair and my bed. Responding to that Curious George instinct I never could get rid of, I reached out from my position to touch it. It shimmered like a pond, before it opened like a mouth and grabbed my hand.

My seat was knocked to the floor as the oval pulled me inside itself, and I began falling through an unknown chaotic space.

* * *

The dust cloud churned up from the summoning was unusually large by Professor Colbert's reckoning. Then again, this _was_ Miss Valliere. Thankfully, this was a holy spell, and as such something anyone with power could do, in theory. The balding magic user patted down his dark blue robe to clear some of the dust being kicked up.

A voice suddenly arose from the fading cloud of debris. "_**Commander, this is Gabriev. Did you guys use another goofy science experiment on me?**_"

The dust cleared and a startled gasp rose from the student body. Even the middle-aged inventor had never had he seen anything like this. Shining black greaves ending in large yellow spikes shaped like drill bits. Pale grey armor at the thighs and upper arms. Strange black protrusions from its back that reminded him oddly of wings. A lion's head made of metal acting as the chest-piece. A black head with an emerald studded gold crest... which the body was attempting to remove?

But as odd as it seemed, the creature did indeed want to remove its own head as it began pressing the sides while tugging upward every so often. Then came the same deep, metallic voice that had been heard before .**"**_**...Dammit, where are those latch plates? I swear Doc's moving them around this helmet just to frak with me...**_**"**

At that point the armored being touched two spots on either side of its head and a plume of steam began to spray from the odd red vents on either side of the faceplate. The helmet slid off easily now allowing everyone to see the face of the... human being?!

'_Of course! A suit of armor. Quite impressive._' Satisfied with that little mystery solved, the teacher turned to the youngest Valliere. "An excellent familiar, Miss Valliere! You must have quite a bit of power inside to bring forth a giant, of all things."

The 'giant' shook his head suddenly causing the short black ponytail in the back on his head to whip about, before turning to look at the assembled crowd with a set of bright hazel eyes. "_Alright, who are you all and where the hell am I? I was supposed to be half-way to Washington by now to give a lecture about Krix'ar Tactics and instead I'm brought here by… well, whatever that thing was that scooped me up in midair._"

The stranger tucked his helmet within the crux of his right arm while many of the students began speculating as to how such a tall person could be brought by the summoning spell. As that continued on, and the young Miss Valliere just stared at whom she had summoned, the armored unknown began whispering to himself. "_System: Access Linguistic Database. Attempt to confirm match with spoken language around me._"

Within his mind, a chime sounded, and seconds later spoke a reply. '_Unable to confirm sufficient match within database using linguistic sample. Continuing translation attempt.' _

A sour look fell on the stranger's face. "_Terrific. Stranded who knows where and the locals aren't talking…_"

At that point Professor Colbert coughed into his hand to help grab the students' attention. "Alright now, class! While it _is_ fascinating to consider how such a familiar came into our midst, there is still one bit of business left before this day is finished. Miss Valliere, would you please continue with your part of the ceremony?"

The clamor started up again at that declaration as the pinkette flushed suddenly. Slowly, she straightened herself and moved toward the armored stranger. The young man looked down at her noting the height difference. When standing straight up like he was the short girl was now about eye level with his torso. She wore a black mantle over a white blouse with a grey, pleated skirt, just like all the other young people that had been assembled, though that redhead with the nice bronze skin was using her blouse to show her impressive cleavage to the world. "_What's up, little lady?_"

The mage-in-training grimaced at something only she knew of before speaking again. "You should consider yourself lucky. Normally, a commoner would go his whole life without a noble doing this for him."

The commoner in question blinked in confusion. "_You are aware of the fact we can't understand each other, right?_"

The young girl's face started to redden in anger while she pointed to the ground below. "Just kneel down!"

The Texan smirked lightly before shaking his head. _"I hate to break this to you, Little Miss, but I can't bend as well as I'd need to to get eye-to-eye with ya…_"

He trailed off as an idea came to him, seconds before he took the crested helmet that had been tucked under one arm and laid it down in front of him rightside-up, before moving to a kneeling position himself. "_There! Still not sure what you want to do, but you might be able to reach me now._"

A few stray giggles escaped from the crowd as the pinkette climbed upon the impromptu stepping stool, swaying slightly as she tried to get her footing. For an instant, it seemed that she'd be able to stabilize herself without help, only to lean suddenly to the side as her arms started windmilling wildly.

A large metallic arm thrust out to grab Louise and steady her before she had a chance to fall. Her eyes moved up the length of the limb to the smiling eyes and face of the one she had summoned. "_Steady now. I'd ask why you'd need me so close, but I'm guessing all I'm saying is gobbledygook to you._"

Louise closed her eyes with a sigh before beginning to wave around the small wand in her hand. "My name is Louise Françoise Le Blanc de La Vallière. Pentagon of the Five Elemental Powers; bless this humble being and make him my familiar."

"_What the hell?_" was the only thing the stranger could say before the small girl reached out and tapped the crown of his head with her wand. Mere seconds later she lurched forward and planted a kiss on his lips. The oddness of the act was enough to get the armored warrior to his feet in surprise, which in turn caused Louise to stumble and faceplant herself in the dirt.

The students all around burst into laughter, while the young man blinked in confusion. "_Uhh… sorry 'bout that. It's not that I'm not flattered and all, I just never-_"

He suddenly trailed off as sparks began dancing across the skin of his left hand, causing him to thrash about and yell in pain. Louise managed to clear enough dirt and debris from her face before speaking again. "It's just the runes inscribing themselves, so stop wailing like a child already."

But his tantruming didn't subside, rather it increased until the armored stranger suddenly jerked himself into standing as tall as he could with a wide-eyed expression that he held for several moments. Afterwards, whatever current that caused him to stand erect as a tent pole left him, letting his body go limp and crash to the ground upon his back in a dead faint.

* * *

Elsewhere, on an island that floated in the sky as a ship would in the sea, another sort of contract was being finalized. One that would spell doom for the the royalty of this land. One with a familiar armored helm to a certain person in Tristain.

"So basically my... _employer_ wants to see what you can do with the right assistance. If the Reconquista can prove themselves competent with my help, my lord promises much more in return in the campaigns to come." The unknown person smirked inside his helmet, looking himself over. The sleek red and black plates of his GaoFar Armor caught the morning sun just right to give off an intimidating glare. If he'd had the room in the building used for the negotiations, the armored fighter would've come wearing the complete suit for an extra flair. As it was though, the demonstration would have to wait until he got onto the battlefield. _'Dunno why Joey wants me to be all nice for these idiots, but if that's what he wants, that's what he gets. I owe him that much at the very least.' _

On a whim he began a systems check of his inner suit. He clenched and unclenched his fists reflexively, the gauntlets responding to the pressure by activating and deactivating straight claws made of beams of crimson light. Moments later, sections of the suit began to shimmer in and out of sight, continuing until every section had managed to vanish and reappear once. Finally, the jewel embedded in the center of the chestplate glowed, then flashed brightly behind it's translucent red paneling. As the two Reconquista agents stared in shock over what they had seen, the man within the powered armor let his thoughts drift to where he had once been before arriving on this world. Bionet. The experiments. The _battles_. And the two rays of sunshine in that life that he had left behind.

'_Pity they aren't here. They'd've liked the fun I'm about to have.'_ He looked out the window to the exercise yard where his robotic ally, Black Marg, was enjoying himself beating the tar out of anyone he could get his mitts on. And where Marg was, the Obsidion Hammer was always close by. He didn't have access to a repair bay over here, but the regen system should be able to handle the day-to-day stuff well enough.

'_I still miss the old team and Renee especially. But a fair consolation prize will be when everyone around here starts callin' me king. King Revan Greywords... how swee~et it is.'_

* * *

A few hours later found the displaced dude from another dimension waking up with a rather splitting headache. "AaaAAaaaagH.. my head! What the everloving sonofabitch _was _that?! System: Diagnostic Function. Full Scan."

He waited for the usual tone signalling that the internal assistant program acknowledged his request for an instant, then two… then several more while growing increasingly frantic over the increasing lack of response.

'_Oh god. Oh God. Ohgodohgodoh SHIT!' _

It must be understood that the System program isn't _simply _a way for the dude from another dimension to figure things out faster, it's also an interface for his internal cybernetics. One that has direct connection to his _brain._ Thus if the program is suddenly unresponsive, either the program itself was damaged, _or-_

'_My brain's fried… that little pink haired spore did something to me that _fried my BRAIN!_' _

His breathing became quick and short while his eyes widened like saucers as the possible types of damage began entering his mind. _'I could be on borrowed time and not even know it just as my autonomic system shuts down. I could be a few IQ points shy of being a clinical retard! I could be three seconds away from having my grey matter pour out my ears! I could, I COULD...!' _

His train of thought suddenly stalled as all he could think of were the words 'What if..'. But as the minutes started to tick by uninterrupted by what could have been happening, he started to calm back down. _'Or I could simply be driving myself into an early grave from worrying too much...again.' _

The stranger from another world sat back on his bottom with his back leaning against the wall, colored like cream with carved wood overlaid at the floor section, and looked around at his new surroundings. It seemed to be a fair-sized rectangular bedroom, much like a small apartment minus the kitchen or bathroom facilities that such a modern housing might have. Just to his right was an elaborate four-poster bed, opposite that on the far wall was an antique wardrobe with a small vanity to the right of that. Farthest away from his vision was a single window, and through the clear glass was the darkness of nighttime.

Turning his vision back onto himself, the unarmored warrior gave himself a looksee just in case something was missing from his person aside from his tech. His familiar baggy blue jeans and steel-toed black boots met his gaze first, followed by his maroon T-shirt under a dress shirt of the same color. The sleeves of the dress shirt were rolled up to the elbow and the shirt itself was worn unbuttoned like a thin jacket.

'_Ok Hoss, since it doesn't seem like you're in any danger at the moment, might as well figure out how much of you is still in there.' _The stranger from another world got comfortable before crossing his legs Indian style and crossing his arms in front of his chest. Then he closed his eyes, allowing himself to focus only on his past, instead of the current state of affairs.

'_Starting from the top, My name is… Ryu Gabriev? No, that's not right, it's something else. Isn't it?... Beautiful, straight out of the gate a stumbling block.' _Ryu shook his head clear with a grimace before closing his eyes and continuing on. _'My hometown, Dallas, TX. Year 2010. Age… 28? Yea, that sounds right.' _

From there, the tapestry of the Texan's past began to unfold before his Mind's Eye. His simple happy childhood, the adversaries of school and high school, the friends he had made in that time. Beginning college and his multiple jobs as he came of age, trying to find something that 'fit' his admittedly poor work stamina at the time. Bowing to his parents' wishes and beginning to focus firmly on finishing his Associate's Degree before the credits he had earned went stale.

Then, the first event that began shifting his life in a new unexpected direction: Hearing about the freak meteor landing in the Arizona desert. Supposedly, something had been discovered at the site, but the government was quick to silence any rumors coming from those who had witnessed the crash. Everyone at the college inclined to be interested in the stars had been abuzz with speculation. A downed spaceship? Alien survivors, perhaps? No one knew, and the G-men hadn't told a soul.

It soon fell by the wayside like all other old news, and had almost escaped Ryu's perception entirely when a group of medical personnel visited the school grounds claiming to be involved in a national Blood Drive. Everyone was encouraged to participate, Ryu included, and the cash incentive proved quite effective in garnering more than a few people's interest. He didn't know it at the time, but a special branch of the government researching what had been found had discovered something impressive about it. It reacted in the presence of specific people, shining with it's own light and generating massive amounts of energy. Such as when the Texan himself took his turn for the procedure, it was one of the highest spike readings ever recorded during the screening process. Afterwards, came the offer in private: Assist us in our research and we can help ensure full grant access to whichever college you'd like to go to.

Nothing about the proposal seemed dangerous, so he accepted, and became part of Project 3G alongside it's hallmark item: a fragment of G-Crystal that had been what impacted the desert floor earlier that year.

From there, the memories sped up once more. Participating in the first experiment to reach whoever had sent the G-Crystal to the USA in the first place. Suffering the unintended consequences, then going on to grow from the experience as a G-Cyborg. Meeting everyone in G-Command, including Professor Kisaragi, his daughter Honey, and Ol' 'Doc' Danbei Hayami to name a few. At the thought of the curvaceous assistant professor, the G-cyborg's heart skipped a beat. Granted, he never got anywhere with her, even as a warrior for Earth's safety, females were still an enigma to him. But still, thoughts and imagination…

And of course, the Enemy couldn't exactly be held out of this little remembrance session, could they? The giant sentient insectoids known as the Krix'ar, a technologically superior enemy that also possessed the ability to psychically mimic whatever was thought of them. Which was why they as a race had set out on this galactic campaign of conquest: the theory that _if _enough species in the known galaxy saw them as gods… could they not then become so? After all, a few dozen people thinking one of the invaders were invincible made them impervious to damage, which was why the G-crystal and the tech built around it was so invaluable to Earth's defense. The only way the Bugs could be beaten was to first believe they _could be beaten_, and only the power of Courage could make that happen.

A sound from behind drew his attention to the wall opposite the window, where an open wooden door and the young pink haired girl from before stood meeting his eyes with her own. "It's about time you woke up. You've been sleeping all afternoon."

The stranger smirked. "You try waking up fast after getting kissed like that. Feels like you've cracked my head in two after that little stunt."

The mage-in-training flushed scarlet as the barb hit home. "Y-y-you _d-d-d-d-dare_?!"

Louise stomped past a table and chair that sat in front the door, past the dude from another dimension before plopping herself onto the bed in a sitting position. "As your master, I-I command you to never to speak of such things ever again!"

The G-cyborg raised an eyebrow at that, before frowning. "I am no one's_ slave_, kid. I will speak how I please, _as I please._"

With that, he picked himself up from where he had been sleeping before and walked over to the table and plucked the chair from its resting place before leaning it against the wall and taking a seat. "Looks like whatever you did to me earlier made it so that we can now understand each other. But what could possibly have happened?"

"Does it matter? Familiars always gain special abilities once summoned, nothing unusual about that." She trailed off as she began studying her own new item, a small device attached to her wrist that had been displaying strange characters and numbers ever since it appeared on her arm at the very moment the runes on her familiar's hand had completed their formation. Turning back towards her familiar, she took in his appearance, odd as it was, before speaking again.

"So what should I call you? Even commoners have names."

The human familiar turned her way before speaking. "I do have one, but it doesn't really feel like it's mine. But the only name I can come up with is Ryu Gabriev, from Dallas, Texas in the good ol' USA."

"What sort of person uses such an odd name as _that_?" He grinned toothily at her, making the pinkette sigh before continuing. "My name is Louise de La Valliere, a mage training here at this Academy of Magic. You are my familiar, which is why you have those runes on your hand."

The Texan felt his eyes go wide at hearing that name. _'Louise... Academy... FAMILIAR?!… Crap-tastic. I've just been hijacked to Zero no Tsukaima.' _ It had been a while since he'd last seen it, what with the war going on back home, but the uniqueness of the pinkette's name jolted his brain back into gear bringing the memories of the show forward once more. _'Great, I'm now this kid's idiot familiar. And she'll expect me to do everything she asks simply because she got away with kidnapping.' _

The Texan turned his attention to the brand upon his left hand. With more and more of his knowledge of the show coming back to him, it was easy to recall that the familiar of Louise de la Valliere was almost universally Gandalfr, the Left Hand of God. This meant either that any item within his hands could be used to lethal effect, or anything that was originally constructed as a weapon could be instinctually used to it's utmost. '_Question is: which one is it?' _

A few more minutes passed before Louise spoke up again. "Stop looking at your runes and come over here. Since it's obvious you're a commoner, without that armor on, you need some chores to do to keep busy..."

"Which reminds me, where _is _my armor?" Ryu turned his head and stared at her intensely for several moments before turning back to his observing of the runes. "I'm still trying to figure out how you managed to pull it off of me without me waking up."

Louise pointed to the device on her wrist. "It was this thing. The moment you collapsed this formed around my wrist and turned your armor into motes of light that flew inside it. Then it rattled off something about 'restraints active' before going silent."

"I want my tech back please, that armor is not a toy and quite capable of doing real damage in the wrong hands."

The pinkette looked back at him and a twitch started to form on the young Valliere's face. "And I said, _come here. _You have chores to do. You can start with my laundry an-"

"Denied."

She began to shake as her volume and temper increased. "What do you mean, denied?!"

"I mean denied, as in rejected, refused, unaccepted, not happening, NO."

Flushed cheeks turned angry red as the mage-in-training hopped off the bed and began stomping towards him. "No? NO?! How dare you deny your master anything!"

He smiled a big eyes-shut smile in her direction. "You call this daring? You should see what I can do after hours when all the little children are asleep." He stopped and blinked as if realizing something profound. "Oh wait, you ARE a little child, so you'd be out cold when Daring Me comes out to play."

Louise's head was down towards the floor, her entire body trembling with her growing rage. "Y-y-y-y-y-y-y-you... You d-d-dog...! You _stupid dog!_" came the scream from her lips and just as fast came the fist towards the back of his head.

The only difference from that of canon events from certain anime and light novels of a similar situation was that instead of a meaty thwack, there was instead a dull clang and the attacker was the one hurt out of the exchange.

"Oro?" The G-cyborg turned his head to see Louise cradling her hand protectively. "Was that your attempt at punishing me?"

"Yes it was, and it felt like hitting a statue!" The pinkette's blinked twice as something else caught up to her senses. "And what in Founder's name does 'ro-ro' mean?!"

The Texan rolled his eyes. "_Oro_, Louise. O-ro. I somehow started saying that after the whole mess with the Bugs got started. Doc thinks it might have to do with all the anime I watched before the accident."

The urge to flee started to rear up in the young mage's mind as Ryu jumped up out of the chair and began walking towards her, cracking his knuckles with an intently cross scowl on his face. "However, I think I need to nip this thought of getting me to obey through force in the bud. The good news, Louise, is that what I'm about to do won't cause permanent damage. The bad news is, you will have trouble sitting for a while."

As Louise bumped into the far wall trying to get away, she raised up her hands in fear. But just as it looked like the pinkette would receive something she had needed for quite some time…

_**Engaging Emergency Stop of non-vital muscular assistance systems. Voice Recognition Access granted for Controller use.**_

...The young otaku's limbs suddenly became amazingly heavy before he pitched over collapsing on the floor, unable to right himself. "Wha- wha- WHAT THE HELL?!"

And to make a bad situation worse, the pinkette actually managed to realize what had happened after looking at the device and seeing the words 'Emergency Stop' along with a timer counting down seconds to zero.

"Well, I guess even a familiar such as you can be brought to heel. Just like a dog."

Now it was Ryu's turn to start seeing red. "That's right, Little Miss, keep pissing me off. It'll make the payback all the sweeter." Finally the timer hit Zero and the Texan sprinted forward on renewed limbs, only to have the device shut him down again just as fast causing him to crash into her bed head first while she laughed and laughed.

"Ha ha ha! That's what you get for threatening your master like that. Now, if you swear to follow my orders without question, I might just agree to letting you get comfortable before I Stop you for the night."

Though he couldn't move from his position on the floor, he could still swear well enough. "Screw you, little girl! I don't care if you can lock me down forever and a day, I'll die first before I let anyone force me into that level of servitude without compensation!"

Her look turned thoughtful for a moment. "You _are_ being compensated. I'm allowing you to move... When I feel like it."

The next few minutes were a game of cat and mouse for the both of them. Louise would calmly move to a far corner of the room during the lockdown phase, and when it lifted, Ryu would try to reach her and prevent another one, only to have the the strange watch and soon the girl herself hit him with another Emergency Stop, making him slam into walls, furniture, and anything else that was in his path as he crashed down to earth. And while no bones could be broken, flesh could still be cut and bruised - meaning, as the morbid game dragged on, the man from another world looked more and more like he had been put through the wringer.

Thankfully for him, this was about to draw to a close.

As the young Valliere sent her familiar into the bedpost for the fifth time in a row, her wrist device suddenly spoke up.

_**Warning! Feedback Charge Tolerances in Danger of Overload. Disabling 'Emergency Stop' until Feedback Charge dissipates.**_

All the blood drained from the girl's face while the young man's lit up in a truly savage grin. "Well, well, well. Guess 'The Boy Who Cried Wolf' is a story still worth hearing, eh, kid?"

"W-w-what does all that this thing said just now mean?"

_**Emergency Stop causes a slight feedback charge to be generated due to the temporary severing of the skeletal muscle assistance from the G-Stone power supply. Multiple consecutive uses of Emergency Stop prevents this charge from dissipating quickly, potentially causing it to quickly increase until it is capable of arcing past the defensive layer of insulation into the pilot's vital organs, resulting in massive electrical trauma.**_

"Yyyy'okay... THAT sounds painful."

The young Valliere began sweating. "How long until, um, Feedback Charge is gone?"

_**Current Estimated Time to 'Emergency Stop' Reactivation: 20 Minutes.**_

_**Emergency Stop ends in: 10...9...8...7-**_

The next words out of Ryu's mouth to Louise would have been "RUN", had she not realized her plight and dashed out of the room as fast as she could.

Once he felt his body return to normal, the Texan quickly found a towel and blotted away the blood on his face and arms so he looked at least somewhat presentable for the chase to come. By this time, Ryu's explosive temper had already gone cold, so, instead of a murderous rage, he was being introspective within his thoughts, a realm where he was his own worst critic.

'_Okay, fine. Maaaaybe I could've shown a little more restraint in dealing with her after she hit me. But she's still gonna get noogied to high heaven for all that trouble she gave me. First thing's first however, I need to get that wrist control from her so she can't lock down my body and powers anymore. Might be better to get her to promise to stop, but I don't see how that can happen now.'_

Seconds later, the door to Louise's room was blown clear off it's hinges when the human familiar ran out after his estranged mistress.

* * *

I quickly made my way down the circular stairs, hoping to catch up to Louise when she and I left the tower. Reaching the next lower level found me looking at two students in the hallway in something of an intimate situation. A young, skinny teen with short blond hair and blue eyes and his companion, a girl with long brown hair and pinkish eyes. "Hey Lovebirds, sorry to interrupt, but did you see Louise run by through here?"

The young girl turned suitably embarrassed at my quip while the lad shrugged. "I believe Louise ran by no more than a moment ago. If I may ask, whom is she running from?"

I frowned. "Me. She thought it would be funny to play Pinball with my head. Now I'm about to catch and Noogie her till she swears not to do it again."

I was actually shocked to see the little punk suddenly jump between me and the girl. "Y-you dare to attack your master, Familiar?"

My frown became deeper as I folded my arms in front. "I dare to retaliate when I'm attacked, Hoss. Something you might like to keep in mind if you're gonna attack me."

Seeing that he wasn't gonna get clear I figured I'd have a little fun getting past him. I got into a runner's start as the blond boy tensed for the unexpected, when suddenly! "BLUE 42! DOWN, SET, _HUT!_"

With several hundred pounds of bionic steel moving me forward, I charged head-on into the young mage and flung him into a wall as I barreled past and down the next set of stairs, with young lady's cries for her 'Lord Quiche' echoing down the stairwell after me.

Two more sets of stairs and I was at the ground floor with Louise in my sights heading for the open archway to the outside. I had just cleared the arch when a huge gout of flame stopped me in my tracks. Further ahead, the only adult that had presided over the gathering this afternoon had his staff pointed at me while the young Valliere was behind him with her wand out. "Not to worry, Miss Valliere, I'll help you subdue your familiar."

My eyes narrowed as he took her side against me. "Sir, while I like the fact you're fighting for the underdog here, that kid behind you gave me a helluva bad time just now. Step aside, and I promise that she won't lose any hair from my noogie retribution."

"I am afraid I must decline, young man. As her teacher, her safety is one of my primary responsibilities."

A small smile climbed up my face. "I can respect that. Name's Ryu Gabriev. And yours, sir?"

Despite his serious expression, a small smirk soon matched mine on his face. "Jean Colbert. Though I am no Sir, simply a teacher."

I nodded, and a split second later I dashed forward at Colbert who launched another large blast of fire. I spun to the left on my heel, dodging the flames as they flew past me, before leaping high into the air. "Let's kick this up a bit, shall we?"

Remembering that oversized wristwatch on Louise's hand made we wonder something about my armor, if it was in there somehow, could I still bring it out? As far away as I was, I couldn't see his expression well in the darkness, but I took the lack of action on his part as an invitation as I crossed my arms in an X-pattern in front of me before shouting out, "ID ARMOR - EQUIP!"

What I heard next made me lose my concentration causing me to sprawl into some of the nearby shrubbery. _**Access Denied. Armor Restraint System is active. Danger Level insufficient for emergency release. **_

"SAY WHAT?!" I screamed, rather disturbed at the thought of being completely unplugged from my armor and weapons. "Gimme my tech back _this instant_, you little brat!"

Louise's face turned crimson. "What did you call me?!"

I crossed arms in front of me. "I called you a brat, and now add to that a _thief._ Gimme back what's mine before I K.O. your bodyguard and blister your bony ass raw."

As his student began building up for another tantrum, Colbert quickly dashed past Louise and let loose a wave of his staff that lifted me high into the air. "Thank you for the distraction, Miss Valliere. I will try my best to not harm your familiar while subduing him."

"You teach people how to burn things with their minds! How exactly does that enter the realm of not ha-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-ah!" The teacher at that point made made me at risk of losing my lunch as he forced me to roll end over end repeatedly for a little while.

"As you can see Mister - Gabriev was it? - Levitation is a spell all mages can use, despite what element they favor. I can hold you up there all night if I need to." Much to the relief of my stomach, Colbert stopped my rotation with me held upright several feet above the ground. Unfortunately, that still meant I was unable to stop Louise from locking me down once again unless I could stop her in the next few minutes.

'_C'mon Hoss, think! You don't have much time until that little runt can lock you down with a simple phrase again! It's bad enough she has backup and I can't even call for-' _It felt like a thunderbolt to the brain as the realization hit me. My hand flew into my right-hand side pocket before grasping around the familiar rounded corners of my cellphone. If this worked-!

"Hey Colbert! It's for you!" Not giving him any time to puzzle out what I was talking about, I hurled the communication device straight at the fire mage's head. Whether it was because he couldn't see it or just didnt think something so small could be threatening, I couldn't tell you, but the little device flew true to it's target colliding squarely with the balding mage's forehead. With his concentration broken, I dropped to the ground and barreled toward my stunned opponent. The fire mage managed to shake himself out of it before I reached him and quickly fired two balls of flame my way. The first zipped by my head while the second flew low, impacting the ground right in front of me. The concussive wave knocked my feet right out from under me which meant I flew end over end right into a faceplant in front of Colbert.

While I coughed out some of the soil and grass that went up my nose, the only thought running through my head at that moment was, '_It's all over...' _ Seconds later, something gave a loud bang right above my head. Looking up, the fire mage was sprawled on his back unconscious and looked a little sooty on his upper torso.

I dared look around from my prone position only to find Louise a few yards away with her wand in her hand and a growing flushed look on her face. "Th-th-th-that wasn't supposed to happen!"

I grinned at my sudden turn of fortune. "Well, it _did happen _kiddo, thanks for the help."

I pulled myself to my feet and started stalking towards the pinkette, knuckles cracking for emphasis. "I _was _gonna paddle your bottom til it glowed in the dark, but for helping me out like that I'm willing to-"

Whatever I might've come up with turned into a squawk of surprise as I suddenly found myself floating off the ground once more. Looking back at Colbert found that he was still out cold, and Louise can't use this kind of spell… then who was?

"You see, Katie? Even a fortunate commoner like this one is no match for a true Nobleman in a fair and honest contest." Hearing that voice and the girlish squeal of excitement that came afterwards told me where to point my eyes. That skinny kid, Guiche, and his girlfriend were at the main entranceway to the dormitory. He had his wand out pointed in my direction and she was holding his arm with a love-struck expression.

I shouted at that scrawny punk to let me down and he spun me around for my trouble. "I will let you down, commoner, once Miss Valliere is capable of putting you under adequate control."

I blanched from my again upside-down position. "Brilliant, Pretty Boi! And while you're doing that, I lose the only chance I have to avoid being abused by that spoiled little brat behind you for whatever infraction she can drum up!"

Steam shot out of the Valliere girl's ears. "Stop calling me spoiled, you dumb dog! I am your master! And the master has to discipline her familiar when he gets willful or disobedient!"

I felt my own temper start to heat up once more. "A master also has to discipline HERSELF, so as to not cause any real damage to her familiar. If the Emergency Stop didn't disable itself, I'd bet everything I have that you'd still be using it to fling me into WALLS!"

Guiche blinked in shocked surprise. "Walls?"

Ignoring Pretty Boi, I focused my attention and anger on the little pinkette. "You can barely control_ yourself_, much less me, Louise! You believe you're my master? The only things you have mastered are failing and being a true bitch to those who don't bow and scrape to your eminence or fit your worldview, which is the true reason that you've earned the surname LOUISE THE _ZERO!_"

The mage-in-training flinched back as if struck before lowering her head and beginning to tremble, but whether in sadness or anger I couldn't tell from this angle. I realized I had other problems, however, when the wrist device spoke up again.

_**Dissipation Time Elapsed. 'Emergency Stop' functionality restored.**_

Those words chilled my blood, but what Louise said next turned my spine to an icicle as my limbs lost power, dropping slack as I hung in midair. "How long can Emergency Stop be maintained?"

"Oh shit... Colbert! Pretty Boi! SOMEONE stop her before she does something I'll regret!"

_**Emergency Stop can be maintained for a maximum of 168 hours or 7 days respectively.**_

Her head shot up to face mine as she _glared _at me with a pair of furious pink eyes. "Then DO IT! I, Louise Francoise Le Blanc de La Valliere, DEMAND that t-t-t-thi-this traitorous, honorless DOG of a Familiar be unable to move without someone's aid for a whole 7 days! DO IT NOW!"

_**Acknowledged. Engaging Emergency Stop for 168:00:00 hours.**_

* * *

It didn't even take a full day for the rumor mill to explode over the events of the prior night.

Louise's Familiar, the simple peasant that could somehow transform into an intimidating Iron Golem (or an Armored Giant, but rumors have a tendency to differ) had been abused by his master and then caught in the act of doing something Horrible! (Again, rumors differed on this point. Some thought she had maimed him, others believed she had actually cast a spell to paralyze his body, and a few... well, they thought she had had her way with him and did such a bad job of it that he couldn't move because of utter disappointment in the noble class as a whole. Coincidentally, the last set of rumors actually seemed to gain some strength with the ladies of the Academy when it was discovered how muscular the peasant was under his new armor.)

But in all cases, the end results were the same. As it was, Louise was currently locked up in one of the spare rooms in the Main Tower, under guard but allowed visitors - a fact that many students took advantage of to offer their support (i.e. teasing, looks of fake sincerity before laughing further down the hall, and in a few cases questions on how good he was in bed before she broke him).

The Familiar, on the other hand, was now being cared for by one of the maids of the academy while Professor Colbert searched the Library for a spell to counteract the Runes of the Familiar to allow him the option of going about his way once the paralysis wore off. In the meantime, the strange device once on Louise's wrist was now with her familiar, who was asking it all sorts of odd-sounding questions. Every so often, a student here and there would check in on him and ended up leaving with laughter on their lips from the wit he could display, as well as more stories to add to the rumors (and in a few cases, fantasies).

But, as the days began to crawl on by, one thing was believed to be certain.

When the seventh day passed, Louise the Zero would be gone. While he'd have to make a decision soon, Ryu was loving the first-class treatment being bestowed upon him.

Man, it almost felt like he was in a dre-e-e-e-a-a-a-

* * *

The dulled sound of a head impacting the floor along with the feeling of same was enough to rouse our hero from dreamland. "...oro-ro-ro..."

Looking around as best he could without being able to turn his neck, he realized he was back in Louise's room. "Okay, God, _that _was a _dick move_."

A slight breeze along the floor chilled him slightly. "Yeah... First thing I'll do is dangle her from the upstairs window in nothing but her underwear. Next I- I- i- ee- _ahchoo!_ I'll find a way to prolong her suffering with some kinda regeneration ability... That way I can keep making her suffer for this indignity..."

A few minutes later, he sighed in disappointment. "No... No, no, no. If I escalate this thing much further, it's gonna hit fatal levels soon. And I'm pretty sure Henrietta would take it personally that I killed her best friend. Nertz... Times like this make it suck to have a frickin' hero complex."

A slight noise from the bed above stopped all semi-private thought processes for a few moments, then Ryu turned back to his planning. "Okay, then... If I can't kill her, I have to pull some kinda co-op negotiation so that the both of us can work together. If only there was a way that I could chat with the wrist controller without it blaring out loud and waking the little spore up."

~_**Internal Communication is Possible. However, I would hope any plan you intend to create does not involve the destruction of the Controller Louise.**_~

"..."

~_**Perhaps I should have mentioned that I am Cognizant?**_~

"You are _sooooo_ lucky I need your help right now, or I'd break you on principle."

~_**Given the current state of your mobility, I believe the proper response is:**_

_**STATLER: "Did you ever try to stand on principles?"**_

_**WALDORF: "Sure, but they always said I was too heavy."**_

_**BOTH: DOH HO HO HO HO HO!**_~

Truly, whomever designed this was a hilariously cruel individual.

* * *

Time passed by slowly as the two cyber-beings continued their conversation.

~"Wa-wa-wa-wait! You made up that Feedback charge bit to get Louise to stop?"~

~_**Correct. My Primary Function is the protection and cooperation of the Pilot and Controller. If she had continued her 'game' with you, I surmised that she would have gone to sleep soon after after becoming bored with you and not realized she had been poking a lion while in his cage, so to speak. I am not capable of direct control of the pilot, meaning you would have had ample temptation and vindication to terminate Controller Louise. This was unacceptable.**_~

~"But the stuff after, you didn't see that coming did you?"~

~_**...correct. The brainwave data I had collected from the Controller as she toyed with the 'Emergency Stop' function convinced me she would see reason if sufficient motivation to listen presented itself. However, it seems her opinion of herself is somewhat... biased.**_~

~"THAT, is the understatement of the year."~

~_**Again, my apologies, Pilot. It would indeed seem that Controller Louise is mentally ill-equipped for the role.**_~

~"JUST mentally?"~

~_***insert laughter here* I am not qualified to judge based on outward appearances, Pilot. The energies of Controller Louise are more than sufficient to maintain the subspace link with the Storage Pocket holding the GaoMachines & Galeon, which is the main requirement to being a Controller.**_~

~"Can't I just Control AND Pilot?"~

~_**Negative. Were you to wear me, I would end up being removed as the Progressive Stages of the Battlesuit were attached, dropping the subspace feed connection. I must remain worn at all times to act as Control Device, siphoning off what residual energies are needed from the Controller to maintain the link and perform other functions, otherwise I default to Power-Safe Mode, which allows continued main function but nothing else. **_~

Ryu's eyes bugged out slightly before a Cheshire grin split his face. ~"That's it... C.D., you're a genius!"~

~_**While this is true, what exactly did I say that would cause you to realize this fact?**_~

The smirk was back where it belonged. ~"Power Safe Mode! I'm gonna go out on a limb and guess Emergency Stop is being maintained by you right?"~

~_**Correct.**_~

~"Then all I need to do is find a way to get Louise to take you off her wrist and you'll power down. Once that happens my body should reset back to normal right?!"~

~_**Calculating...Calculating...**_

_**Conclusion: 98% Probability that proposed scenario will execute as predicted.**_~

~"And the other 2%?"~

~_**2% Probability that the miniature organic is merely looking for trouble and needs to be blasted. That may be wishful thinking on my part, Master.**_~

*SNORT* "AHA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA!" The loud, belly laughter continued for some time before sounds from the bed forced the Texan to be quiet once more.

~_**Your endorphin levels were much lower than normal, Pilot Gabriev. I hope this response was satisfactory in helping to restore them.**_~

~"O- hehe, okay. For making me laugh like that, I forgive you for not helping sooner."~

~_**Your forgiveness is the highlight of my operational cycle. But how do we proceed with the proposed scenario?**_~

The smirk on the young cyborg's face turned determined as a green glow began to build under his shirt. "Here's the deal..."

* * *

As it always will, night became day once more, and Louise de la Valliere slowly rejoined the waking world. "_Yaaaaa~aaawn_... It's always too early to get up..."

Still half-asleep, the young Valliere girl swung her legs over the side of the bed and hopped off, only to land on something warm... and breathing.

"...ow."

Shrieking herself awake, she leapt to the side and looked at the young man immobilized on the floor, recognition dawning in her eyes. "...Oh. It wasn't a dream. I really did summon a crazy familiar yesterday. And then-"

Her eyes narrowed as the memories of the night came back to her. "And then I had to punish him for being a stupid, backstabbing traitor..."

Said 'traitor' merely rolled his eyes in response. "You know, I get that the idea of me being down here is so you can walk all over me, but if it's all the same to you, _could you _not_ walk all over me_?"

Louise huffed and began to undress herself before scratching her wrist that wore C.D. "Mmm... Stupid itchy thing..."

"You know, if you took it off for a few seconds and washed that part of your skin it would feel loads better."

Not really thinking of anything save the unusually good advice from her familiar, Louise did just that and took off the device, placing it on the table. As she moved to the washbasin to freshen up, C.D. flashed his now silent warning of the power down before speaking up.

_**Now Entering Power Safe Mode.**_

"Hmm? What does that mean?" She mumbled from behind her towel, just before pulling it back from her face... and seeing her Familiar standing up right behind her.

Faster than she'd ever seen anyone move, he closed the distance between the two of them and enclosed both her slim wrists in one hand over her head while clamping the other over her mouth.

"You've never heard it before, but I'm pretty sure this will freak you out." His face moved close to her ear and whispered in a sinister tone.

_"Heeeere's Johnny!"_

* * *

"You know, I'm glad we could finally sit down and have a nice talk like this..."

"...hm..."

"Of course, it helps that all you can do is listen for the moment, eh?"

"HMMMPH-PHMM-MMM!"

Ryu laughed lightly as Louise struggled in her new predicament: a firm hogtie using one belt wrapped around crossed wrists and another around ankles before being pulled together and buckled into a complete loop of leather. Finally, an extra pair of her panties wadded up in her mouth secured with a stocking around her head completed the restraint.

"Anyway, for the time being, I'm gonna see what this place is like during the day while you relax here on the bed and think about what you've done." With her muffled screams in his ear the dude from another world walked to the door and started to open it before stopping to consider something.

"Y'know, something seems to be missing..." A moment later his face lit up with inspiration! "Of _course_, how could I forget _that_?"

Shutting the door, the G-cyborg did a quick about face and returned to the bed Louise was on, sat down next to her and pulled her wriggling form across his lap.

"STMMP-MMM! HMMM!"

"In case you were wondering Louise, this will sting a little while. But it's clear you've needed some of this for a long time."

He gripped the buckles connecting the two belts to one another and pulled them out of the way before moving his hand to her slip-covered buttocks. A slow swing to ensure nothing was still in his way, then a quick swat across her rump, stunning the captive mage with the sensation.

"Good, you're holding still. Makes this go faster."

*SMACK* "Mmmm!"

*SMACK* "MMM-phmm!"

*SMACK* "MMM-MMM!"

In no time he managed to get a good beat going (no pun intended) and started singing.

_"IIII've been spanking this li-ttle tart,_

_Alll the live-long day._

_IIIII've been swatting this here ti-ny rump,_

_Just to pass the time away!"_

Louise 'mrrr'd long and hard as one swat hit a tender area of her reddening tush before the song continued.

_"Caaaan't you hear the people askin',_

_'Why's she such a little bitch?'_

_It's 'cause her daddy was a dum-dum,_

_And di-dn't use the switch!"_

*SMACK-SMACK*

His hand didn't lift again after that last double hit, while the other was now helping to keep her limp form steady while she quietly cried her eyes out. Sadly, at this point, Ryu was out of ideas. Granted, he had given her what he thought she deserved for all the trouble she'd put him through, but now he had a sobbing girl in his lap, and that was starting to make him feel somewhat guilty.

Might as well play this by ear then.

He gently lifted her bound body off his lap and laid her down on the bed on her tummy making sure not touch or brush a hand against her cherry-red buttcheeks. Once he had made her comfortable (as much as could be done rather), he took her chin in his hand and locked her eyes with his own.

"Louise, I need you to listen right now. I could have left things as I was about to and kept you here for a few hours while you had a taste of what I was being put through due to you not liking what I had to say last night."

He paused for a moment to see if she was actually listening, and as far as he was able to tell she was, before continuing on. "But I realized that if I did, you'd have just stewed in here for that time and not really learned anything. So instead, I gave you a little object lesson of how much power you truly hold over me... which is none."

Her eyes shifted downward as tears began welling up in them again, before Ryu gently brushed them away with his free hand and kissed her forehead, causing her to blush. "Shh, shh, shh... None of that. Let me finish." His mouth curled in a smile. "Now even though you don't have the ability to force me into anything, you can convince me to do things as a comrade. Oddly enough, I have a bit of a soft-spot for you, since I know what it's like to be bullied by others. That's why I'm still willing to offer you a deal, Louise the Void."

Her eyes bugged out at the implication of that runic name. HER? A Void User?! Impossible!

"Don't believe me? Okay, then, answer me this: the founder of your country was a Void user too, right?"

She nodded, all people knew that.

"And didn't he have a familiar that could use any weapon?"

Again a nod.

"Well, last time I checked, no creature, magical or otherwise, can use tools and weapons like a Human can."

She started to nod again before all the pieces clicked together in her mind, and she STARED at her armor-using, crazy Familiar. "I see you're starting to get the picture, milady. If only humans or humanoids can use tools and weapons, and the last Void user to date had a humanoid as his familiar, then it stands to reason that you got what you did for a reason... which might be that you have the same powers yourself."

Letting her stew over that one for a bit, the human familiar started to undo the stocking holding her gag in place. "Now then milady, we're gonna play a little game. Basically, I'm going to trust you to behave yourself while I untie you. If you scream or start up your usual antics before, during, or after this, I'll knock you out and dash for the hills. I can easily make the jump from here to the ground and be several hundred yards away before anyone else knows what's happening, savvy?"

The stocking came free and the mage-to-be spit out the wad in her mouth, before looking back up at him. "A-a-a-and i-if I don't? If I don't do anything to make you leave, will you act like my Familiar then? Will you behave and do what I say?"

Point of No Return. No looking back.

"I'm not gonna bow to your every whim, if that's what you're asking, but I will be someone in your corner. A comrade to help you out. Maybe even a friend to rely on, if you trust me enough. Don't misunderstand, having me as a friend is a great thing... since, in a way, I am like a dog."

She couldn't help it. Without warning, she started giggling merrily. "Y-y-y-y-y- hehehee... Y-you admit to being a dog?"

The belt buckles came free as the Texan smirked. "As loyal as one, anyway. My friends are the family I've chosen, and I help and protect family above all other things. Give me a reason to, and I'd take on the world if it meant helping a friend! Massively corny, I admit, but it's who I am. But the question is, Louise le Blanc de la Valliere, 'Are you willing to accept that?' The loyalty and friendship of a human familiar, which is stronger than any chain, who would swear to look out for you, even if it's to save you from yourself?"

The final bits of her restraint were taken away as she rolled into a sitting position, before standing up quickly, wincing at her still sore bottom. She then turned, head looking down, as she walked up to stand in front of her Familiar.

She turned her gaze to his and firmed up her resolve. "If you do that to me again, It had better be for a good reason."

He smiled and stuck out his hand. "Deal. So, are we agreed, partner?"

Her face betrayed a small smile as she gripped his hand with her own. "Yes... Partner."

The tableau of cuteness lasted until the G-cyborg's face turned catty. "Well that's good to know, since that slip of yours is giving me SUCH a free show right now."

The young Valliere's face turned bright red, before she started chasing her Familiar around the room screaming bloody murder at him as he laughed and tossed articles of clothing to her to wear.

Soon enough, the chase was on down the hall as Louise ran after Ryu, still swearing to geld him or something worse, but inside feeling a little bit warmer at knowing he would be on her side from now on.

She'd never admit it, though.

* * *

Chapter End.


	2. Chapter 2: The Shield That Protects

Prince of Braves, Zero's Familiar

Disclaimer: All persons, objects or series belong to their creators and this work in no way is meant to profit off of them. Just a simple author enjoying his hobby for others to read in a free world.

~Speech~: Wi-fi transmission

'_Speech_' :Thoughts

"_Speech_": Language not understood by everyone

"_**Speech**_": Audio Speaker Output

Chapter Revised - 3/3/2014

* * *

The Shield That Protects

* * *

After Louise finally ran out of steam, I finally got her to walk with me to the Academy's main dining hall so we could have breakfast. Just like in canon, a feast fit for a king (or at least several nobles) was already laid out as the many students of each class settled in for their morning prayers.

But in the time between leaving her room and making it here, Louise had suffered somewhat of a relapse regarding our deal.

"Only Nobles sit here. You sit down there." She pointed to an old plate on the floor as she spoke.

I blinked, looked at her then the plate. Her. The plate. Her. The plate. Finally, I just looked at her and smiled my BIG smile - the one I tended to use before getting into mischief to prove a point.

I made sure her chair was scooted close to the table before I moved to the one to her left where another student was, a first year if the brown cloak was any indicator. I then lifted the chair - with him in it - before tilting the chair in my hands just right, making him slide off the first and into the empty seat of the one right next to him.

The whole room was laughing and cheering a bit now as I set the now free seat back on the floor, plopped myself in it, and scooted flush against the table. "Sorry Louise, my folks taught me to never eat on the floor. Unsanitary, you know."

A jeering voice spoke up. "Nice work, Valliere! Maybe you can teach him tricks, too!"

I turned in its direction. "That's nothing. Soon, she's gonna teach me how to juggle whoever said that in one hand along with two razor-sharp axes while not slurping the soup!"

An 'eep' far too high not to be a girl's squeaked up from the offending space, while I just settled in and enjoyed the sight Louise's bright red face.

"Does anyone mind if I say grace from my homeland? I'm afraid I don't know your queen or this Founder that well." Several around me shook their heads as my smile returned to normal levels. "Thank you. I wouldn't want to offend anyone."

* * *

"I can't believe you did that in front of EVERYONE!" Louise's face was reaching levels of red few could match without draining their bodies dry as she stormed out of the Dining Hall in a huff.

The source of her embarrassment was right beside her, smiling at a job well done. "I can't believe you'd think I wouldn't after that slip of yours. Trying to make me eat on the floor? You were asking for it, missy."

The young Valliere was not listening at this point, knee deep in rant mode. "AND to make matters WORSE, I'm sure a few of those 'converts' of yours actually _believed _that garbage you were preaching in there!"

Ryu turned back to the entrance of the hall just in time to see his 'faithful' exit in a group filled with ideas of the Prime Truth. Feeling the sweatdrops come on, he turned back to his estranged master. "Okay, okay, so I can spin a yarn with the best of 'em. I also recall telling them that to prove their faith, they'd need to discover something of the Truth within their own 'Spark'. And in the meantime, I'm not really asking anything of them save to hang out with them for a while. And if one of 'em actually gets it? Might not be such a bad idea to spread some of that around."

The mage-to-be huffed and started walking again. "Honestly, what sort of name is 'Optremas Preems' anyway?"

The G-cyborg suddenly dropped to one knee and began speaking in a fevered tone. "OH Primus! Forgive this one! For she knows not the freedom and truth that is your son, Optimus! 10110100 10101010 01110100, end-of-line!"

"STOP THAT!" Louise began beating her fists against the familiar's back and shoulders, only making him laugh harder and harder.

"HA-ha-ha-ha-ha! Help! Help! I'm being repressed! Aha HA HA!"

Suddenly the hands of a male student stopped Louise's attack and pulled her off of the dude from another dimension as he was quickly helped up by a pair of his female converts, the rest looking on worried. "Stop, Louise! Your Spark will be forever Damned if you lay a hand on him like that!"

"It's all nonsense! He made that stuff up to embarrass me, don't you idiots get that?!"

An astounded gasp rang out from the assembled before Ryu got back onto his feet and calmed them down. "..._'And in the Heart of Iacon on the 137th Day of the Crusade did Megatron hope to destroy the Will of All Autobots by slaying the one Zeta Prime. Though his loss was felt by all, Heroes would still in later days to come raise the Icons of Freedom and Justice against the traitorous hordes of Megatron.'_...My friends, do not be surprised if many will come to debunk our faith. For in truth, many do not understand it. We are not looking to a god or a saint for the truths we now seek, but merely a warrior among warriors, not omnipotent, and all too capable of making mistakes. But does not one who has fallen know then how to stand again?!"

The dozen awestruck students, including the ones who were keeping Louise from beating on Ryu some more, dropped to one knee with shut eyes, all mumbling prayers of forgiveness, some in the same random pattern of ones and zeroes that the Texan had shown them before.

Ryu on the other hand was actually starting to panic a little upon realizing just how far these kids were willing to take this joke. _'Ohhh dear. I have actual followers... of the Church of Primus... Ohhh God. For the Primary, Secondary, and the Holy Spark and all that... Ohhh shit.'_

He was about to scream out that it was all a joke, but then realized that, with his own 'scripture' just now, he had closed that door! _'Double shit...'_

This was BAD... or... _was it_? These kids heard something from all the babble and fuss he was spouting off at breakfast. What if it was because they _wanted_ to find something? Something wholesome and good that could guide them through hardship and strife?

Brimir wasn't doing the job or this wouldn't have happened in the first place. Supposedly there was a Church in Romaglia, but there wasn't HERE.

A feeling started to take hold in the young man's heart, far greater than any he had ever felt before. And unknown to him, the Infinite Information Circuit in his chest began to shine brightly past his shirt and upon the students around him, dazzling their sight.

_'If these kids need someone to guide them, someone to give 'em something worth holding onto... then By God, Primus, or whoever's listening, that's exactly what they're gonna get!'_

The light from his body soon faded away leaving him smiling at the dozen or so kids. "You all have things to do now, I'm sure. Just... just go and think about what the Prime Truth could mean to you. Don't try forcing this on people you see right now, it feels all wonderful and new to you right now, sure, but you've only just begun the journey."

One of the girls looked up at that point. "Should we bring anything to tribute?"

The G-cyborg shook his head. "Information may be for sale around the world, but the Truth is free to all. Just bring yourselves if you need to bring something."

Soon the new converts to the Church of Optimus left on their way and Ryu turned back to Louise, only to see her bug-eyed, gaping expression.

"I'm just glad I didn't call on Slaanesh or something. Who knows what might've happened if one of the Chaos Gods were being worshiped here?"

* * *

Somewhere in a section of deep space that many would never dare tread due to what lay within, said being snapped his tendrils in frustration.

"BlAsT iT. AlL tHaT SuBtLeTy WaStEd On A fOoL mEcHaNiCaL BeInG."

* * *

Moments later, the Void mage-to-be and her familiar arrived in the classroom and took a pair of seats in the middle row seconds before the professor entered herself. She was a somewhat heavy-set person with a kindly face wearing a purple robe and matching witches' hat. Her green eyes scanned the crowd of students with a smile. "I am Chevreuse the Red Clay, your teacher in Earth Magics. It gives me great joy to see the interesting new familiars summoned every spring."

She turned her gaze to the youngest Valliere, who ducked her head in turn. "I understand your familiar is quite unique, Miss Valliere. You should do your best to make yourself worthy of such an interesting creature."

The dude from another dimension smirked before raising his hand. "Actually Ma'am, that was me. The armor adds a couple o' feet in height when I have the whole thing on."

The professor blinked in confusion before continuing. "A-ah... at any rate, all of you should see now that descriptions of the familiar bond fall far short of reality. Believe me when I say that your magic has become much more powerful now that your affinity has been revealed and confirmed. Please refrain from casting any magic unless an instructor is present."

The Texan chose at that moment to raise his hand again. "Professor, is the power-up due to the familiar itself or because the mage in question knows which element to focus on?"

The pinkette, the teacher, and the whole of the class just stared at the G-cyborg for a few moments like he was a mouse that had asked about physics. "What? I can't ask questions about something that might help my mistress get better at this?"

Madam Chevreuse considered the logic in that, before just counting her blessings that someone had arrived with serious questions to ask. "Well young man, some theorize that the bond allows a transfer of power between the familiar and its master. This is countered, however, by the fact many mages that summon powerful familiars already _were_ powerful to begin with. Miss Tabitha, for example, was considered a Triangle-class already before her dragon answered her call. So that lends credence to the Focusing Theory. But that doesn't truly explain why a mage with a familiar is always more powerful than one without."

Ryu folded his arms in front of his chest and gave an expression of deep thought before continuing. "So something enhances the mage when the bond is formed. Maybe it has something to do with the combined willpower, or some kind of synergistic boost."

The middle-aged professor was starting to like this commoner's attitude towards knowledge and decided to help by bring the whole class into it, putting up the topic for debate. For a few minutes all the students dickered back and forth both theories and reasons for it, each trying to 'prove' their idea was right. At the end of it though, no one could really answer the question sufficiently until Louise of all people gave her attempt.

"It could simply be a combination of the two. Nothing of either idea cancels out the other, so both of them could play a part in how the bond works." The Texan grinned and ruffled his little mistress' hair much to her indignation.

"Of course, this assumes that you actually summon someone instead of hiring them beforehand somewhere."

The whole class erupted into laughter as Louise and her familiar turned to the source of that little jab, a portly young man with short blond hair. "I cast the spell just like we were taught, he's all that appeared!"

"Don't lie, Louise the Zero! I bet you couldn't even cast 'Summon Servant' properly, could you?" The obese mage then joined the rest of the class in another bout of laughter before the dude from another dimension spoke up. "And if that were true, and she _did _hire me, why are you risking my wrath by insulting my employer like that?"

The whole class, including the professor, went silent at that allowing Ryu to continue. "Here's how this goes, Butterball. Either Louise did summon me like she says, or she hired me to play her familiar to save face. Doesn't matter since either way, I take offense to any slight on her honor and integrity. Where I come from, blood feuds have been started for less. So I ask again, why are you risking me _throwing you out that window _by making fun of my little mistress?"

Before the blond boy could utter out an answer, the tense moment was brought to a screeching halt as thick lumps of clay appeared in the mouths of both the G-cyborg and the jeering young noble. As they then hurried to remove the foul tasting material, Madam Chevreuse took back control of her class. "Young Mister Malicorne, accusing people of subverting the Summoning Ceremony and calling them 'Zero' is quite unacceptable. As for you, young man, while I appreciate you trying to defend your mistress's honor and helping to get my student's to consider magical theorem, I will have you banned from the classroom if another student is threatened like that again. Is that clear?"

The dude from another dimension finally managed to spit out the last of the clay blob before replying in a subdued tone. "Understood, ma'am. I'll...I'll keep myself in check."

* * *

"Ugh... I'll be the first admit how effective that is for keeping kids under control, but now I'll be tasting mud for _days._" Ryu ran a finger along the inside of his mouth hoping to find the last remnants of clay somewhere within as Louise and he walked towards the field where the other second year students were getting to know their familiars.

"It serves you right, after threatening Malicorne like that, what were you thinking?!" She continued walking, even as a small voice in her mind started talking back, causing her to smile slightly. _'It was nice though, someone actually standing up for me like that, instead of just laughing like the rest.' _ Louise then grimaced again. _'I-I-It's still embarrassing! A familiar should be seen and not heard, especially if _that _is what it would otherwise do.' _

The mage-in-training then smiled once more, then switched back to grimacing. She would've probably continued this pattern had the cause of it not noticed what she was doing and decided to speak up. "Louise, if you keep making faces like that, you're gonna run out."

The pinkette shrieked in surprise before stammering out a reply. "Tha-th-That's none of your concern! Firstly, why are you trying to ask complex questions about magic? You might as well ask a peasant to learn court etiquette for all the good it would do. It's useless knowledge to someone like you!"

The young noblewoman stomped forward for a few more steps before she noticed her familiar wasn't following her any more. Turning back around, Louise noticed a firm, serious expression settle over his face. "There is no such thing as useless knowledge, Louise de La Valliere."

The G-cyborg then closed the distance between them and stopped, staring her straight in the eye. "Before my armor, before magic, before any weapon or tool at mankind's disposal... is the Human Brain." Ryu pointed a finger straight at his temple. "It is this lump of wrinkled neurons that is singularly capable of outperforming _any_ known power, provided it's owner takes the time to learn."

He then crossed his arms in front of his chest. "I'll be the first to admit I can't use magic. But just because I can't make a fireball, doesn't mean I can't make use of the mechanics magic has to operate under. Take mages themselves as an example. Yes, the elements they can command are formidable, but only if they have their wand can they use them at all. That little flaw right there can give a commoner the edge he needs to make it a much more fair fight, just get the wand out of their hand."

Taking a step back, the Texan continued. "If you know how something works, you can alter, magnify, or defeat it's effectiveness by simply doing the right thing to it. That's why I asked about the familiar bond we have together. If we can figure out why a mage's magic is enhanced after getting a familiar, then we might be able to take it further. Perhaps even giving you the control to do everything the other kids can do, savvy?"

Ryu gave a parting wink to his little mistress and was about to continue walking to their destination, when a sultry voice entered the conversation. "My, my. Such a loyal commoner you managed to hire, Valliere. Or do you still claim that you summoned him?"

Both mistress and familiar turned to the source of the voice to find the redhead from the other day staring back at them, with a large red lizard next to her that a flame on the end of it's tail. "Under all that armor, he really _is _a human isn't he?"

The dude from another dimension held a neutral look. "Last time I checked, Miss."

The redhead's eyes roamed up and down Ryu's body a few times, before she all but slinked up to the human familiar and stage whispered in his ear. "Whatever her family is paying you, mine can easily double that, perhaps more."

The pinkette quickly started fuming over that comment silently before the Texan chuckled and moved to Louise's side. "Sorry to disappoint, but I don't break a contract just because someone else can bring a bigger bid."

He placed an arm around his little mistress, making sure that the runes on his left hand could be easily seen. "Especially when the contract is so..._binding_."

The young mage-in-training flushed at how her current position looked before delivering an elbow deep into her familiar's gut. "That's enough barking out of you! E-e-e-e-escort me to the dining area already!"

Coughing slightly, the G-cyborg nodded and started walking. "Right Boss, I think it was this way."

"I'm your _Master_, not Boss!"

The two started bickering lightly as they walked away, leaving the Germanian beauty with her thoughts. _'Hm-hmm...He might be fun to play with, after all.'_

* * *

Once we reached the party area, Louise and I sat down at a table away from the others to continue our discussion from before.

"Like I was saying before, if we find out how the bond works we might be able to figure out how to get it to do what we want." I crossed my arms in front of me and went into my 'thinking pose', head leaning down with eyes closed to focus on the problem at hand. "In most cases, I think the familiar acts as a secondary power feed to the mage for their spells in return for the intelligence granted by the bond. In our case, no transfer really occurs since our minds are both on the human level."

Louise grimaced. "That's debatable in your case."

I smirked at her in return, making her fume even more. "That said, the bond is still there, so maybe it can act as a conduit or a communications line. Perhaps even..."

I trailed off as something came to me and I stood up and walked off with Louise wondering aloud where I was going. I returned as quick as I could, with a few fair-sized pebbles. "I've got an idea, but I need to test it first. I want you to try to levitate these rocks for me, ok?"

The little mistress opened her mouth to say something, but I spoke up again, cutting her off. "Look, I know you don't believe me. I know you think I'm nuts for saying you have something not publicly seen for millennia, but let me point something out to you. At this point, _what do you have to lose_? You've struck out with the primary four elements for an entire year now. You've shown that you have the potential for magic simply by managing to summon me. So if you do have it within you, and it's not one of the known four...then there's really only one possibility left, isn't there?"

Louise let her gaze drop and seemed to mull it over for a moment before finally speaking. "What if you're wrong? What if... what if it was just a fluke?"

I moved over to her side of the table and tilted her eyes to meet mine. "Then at least we know, and have a path to move forward. But if it comes to that, keeping you safe is what I'll do."

Louise flushed, then suddenly knocked my hand away from her chin before crossing her arms in front of her chest and turning up her nose at me. "Fine. S-s-since it's obvious that you love this silly theory so much, I shall be a kind master and cooperate. But you have to take responsibility and clean up the mess if all I do is blow up the field."

The smile became a smirk as my eyes rolled skywards. _'Whatever works I guess.'_

Seconds later, the two of us had retaken our positions at the table as I explained what I wanted Louise to try. "Ok, since you tend to focus on the element you want to make the spell work, I think the first thing to try is for you to cast a spell while thinking about _that_ element. Whatever happens should give us a clue for our next step."

Louise begrudgingly complied with my request, focusing on the Void while trying to cast Levitation. She expected the rock to explode, I was hoping for it to float in the air. What we got was a slight wiggle and a slight pop. "You see? I told you it was useless."

I shook my head at that. "Good experimentation is trial and error, Little Miss, with heavy emphasis on error. Try again, but put more focus into it, please."

Again she attempted the spell, and was rewarded with the pebble jumping off the table for an instant. "Almost there! Give it all you got, Louise!"

By this time Louise was getting mad at the lack of obvious progress, so just to shut me up she did put everything she had into the spell - all her frustration, doubt, and anger at the time. The only warning I had was the pebble glowing brightly for a second before it rocketed upwards and soon flew out of sight.

I could only blink at that. "...huh. Well, it's off the ground at least."

The pinkette just slumped in her seat. "There, I did your foolish 'experiment', now leave me alone about this!"

My head tilted to the side at that. "Um, Louise? What is Levitation supposed to do?"

"Make things and people float off of the ground."

"And what did you just do?"

She grimaced as she answered. "I made the stupid pebble disappear into the sky."

I smirked. "So, in effect, you just levitated that thing so high that it's heading for the moon now. If you ask me that's succeeding _too well_. Nothing to be ashamed of considering what was happening before."

Louise huffed and turned away. "Regardless, it still failed. And I already said I'm not doing it anymore."

I felt the frown twist my face as I replied. "Tch. So when you are finally about to make real progress you up and quit. I had no idea my little mistress was such a coward."

_That_ got her attention in a hurry. "You take that back this instant!"

"No I won't. You were so close to making it work, but the only things you see are how it isn't working. If you were a _real _Noble, you'd push through this last hurdle and prove everything the other students have said about you is false. Unless, deep down you believe it's true."

Steam all but shot out of her ears as I teased and goaded her into trying again. Finally, just after the other students and faculty were starting to take notice of our escalating argument, Louise grabbed her wand again. "I'll show YOU who's a true Noblewoman!"

She went on full autopilot, imagining the rock sailing off the table to nail me right between the eyes as she flicked her wand to make the cast. And instead of an explosion, instead of anything else, the rock did just that! I couldn't think over how much that actually hurt as the force of the impact tilted me back in the lawn chair until it and me fell over.

'_...owww... Note to self: Reverse Psychology works far too well on Louise.' _

The mage-in-training just stared with a dumbstruck expression as I slowly managed to get the chair upright again and sit back onto it. "So... Feel better now?"

As if a switch was flipped in her mind, Louise slowly came back alive before my eyes. "It.. it did what I wanted... I cast a spell... and it did what I wanted."

A big part of me couldn't help but grin at a job well done as Louise cheered for her success. "I did it! Oh Founder, I did it!"

"Man, it's a real good thing you didn't quit too soon, huh Louise?"

She started to nod in agreement before all that happened up to now came back to her. "You did that on purpose. You made me upset on purpose, didn't you!?"

My grin upgraded to cheshire grin at that. "Maaaybe... though I didn't really expect you to knock me senseless with your first successful dot-class spell."

Now it was Louise's turn to sport a smarmy grin. "Well, that should teach you to not offend your mistress anymore, shouldn't it?"

I _could _mention that if it wasn't for me she'd still be fumbling with her magic, but why ruin her first real success? "Well, being your punch clown is hungry work, so I'll just go see what I can scare up for the both of us to eat."

I moved away from our table and moved further into the party area, which helped me meet someone new as I got startled by a floating eyeball and flew back into someone feminine, if the pitch of the shriek was any indicator. I turned to the girl with the apology on my lips, only to have it trail off upon seeing what she looked like.

It wasn't Siesta. Looked close to her though.

Same haircut, same face, and instead of a maid's uniform, the one of a student, second-year to be exact. And those eyes! A green so deep you'd swear they were precious gems.

"...excuse me..."

Man I dunno how she did it but she could slay a guy by batting those peepers.

"Excuse me..."

Still as built as before too, whoo! Getting a little warm for some reason.

"Gendral, could you make him stop please?"

Who's Gendral?

Suddenly the feeling of huge teeth clamping down on my ass was known, along with how high-pitched I can scream. "YEEEEOOOOUCH!"

I flew a few feet into the air over who I thought was Siesta and landed behind her now giggling form before circling around to see who had the iron balls to actually BITE me...then seeing it and having a mini-nerdgasm.

A Frostsaber... An Honest-to-God Frostsaber. Sweet Jesus, I love this world right now.

I finally shook my head clear of Warcraft thoughts as the girl who might be impersonating Siesta walked up to the beast and petted his deeply purring form. "Good boy Gendral. That seemed to wake him up."

It's snow-white striped head nodded. "...Indeed." It TALKS TOO?!

As I gave my rump a quick patdown to confirm nothing lost, I stood up and faced her and the AWESOME TALKING-sorry, her familiar with an embarrassed grin and chuckle. "Eh he he heh... sorry 'bout that. You just reminded me of someone I knew...and then your very pretty eyes made me forget how to think."

She flushed slightly. "Ahh...w-well. Such a nice thing to say...But who did I remind you of?"

"Girl named Siesta, nice demeanor, attractive physique, easy to get along with."

The rest of her face turned crimson. "Um...t-that's my name, actually. Have we met before?"

Well, that's one mystery solved. "Doubtful. She was a maid, after all."

Suddenly Siesta's face lit up. "Ah! Teana, you found us! Sir, this is Teana my maid and friend."

I turned in the direction she was looking only to get a second mental short-out. There in a light purple maid's uniform was the blue eyes, brown hair and...healthy body of my favorite cheerlead-_er_, leading lady of the Yu-Gi-Oh set, Misaki Anzu, at least in appearance. Dunno if this meant there was a Yuugi around, but one could only hope.

The maid smiled sweetly in our direction before walking up to us and passing out some sort of juice cocktail. "Here you go. I hope this satisfies you, Mr. Familiar. I didn't have many ideas on what giants of men ate or drank." She smirked slightly as she said that making me laugh at the implied joke.

"My needs are the same as anyone else's Miss. Good food everyday, a roof over my head, and friends to party hard with!"

The two girls laughed with me and the three of us began to converse together. I traded stories of my world and jokes every so often for learning Siesta's full name, Siesta Rochelle La Gardenia, and how her family came to power in the land.

Seems her great-granddad figured out how to make a fortune off of gems and jewelery, especially a type of emerald that no one had ever seen before. She then pulled out a cut shard hanging around her neck to show what she meant. Truly gorgeous, I could see why people couldn't enough of them. That would've been enough to hold him as a successful merchant, but a war at that time broke out giving him the chance to show off the other thing he was. His distinguishing moment came when his commanding officer fell in battle and took the reins himself, single handedly leading a platoon of footmen to capture a strategic location from the enemy army at the time and holding it for 20 days without reinforcements. When the reinforcements finally came, it was said that he gave such a rousing speech that night that the morning after the men fought like they were possessed, driving the enemy back from that area AND the territory beyond that.

Soon after, he was knighted for his brave deeds and Siesta's family joined the ranks of nobility. Soon after that, tales began to spread of the family's brilliant green eyes as well as their loyalty and courage.

She would've continued if Gendral hadn't nuzzled Siesta and mumbled something about 'going for a run'. She excused herself and asked Teana to help with the catering work til the party was over before climbing on her familiar's furry back and riding off.

I was jealous. "Man... She got a frostsaber... Not fair."

Teana giggled. "A familiar jealous of another familiar. Miss Valliere certainly summoned an interesting commoner, didn't she?"

I grinned widely. "You haven't seen anything yet."

I had no idea of how right I was about to be as Siesta's maid left to bring a bit of cake to one of the nearby tables, noticing a young blond nobleman drop a small bottle in the process. I had walked on seeing if I could find any of the more interesting familiars before I heard a scream and a smacking sound. Running up to the forming crowd I saw Pretty-Boy Guiche harassing Teana.

"You foolish maid! Your lack of tact has damaged the reputation of two young ladies! How are you to take responsibility for this?!" Subtly his eyes were roaming all over her body and he was a bit disappointed.

Teana jerked back slightly. She had heard rumors of some of the more randy nobles taking advantage of some the hired help here at the school, but she thought as long as she was with her mistress she was safe.

I pushed my way into the ring of people and stood in front of my new friend and faced Guiche with both arms folded in front of me and a rather cross expression on my face. "Never ask someone else to take responsibility for your own actions, pal."

"You again? Perhaps you did not endure enough of my prowess last night."

I grimaced. "Dude, you _really _need to watch how you say things, cause that made you sound amazingly queer just now."

The other students laughed aloud as Young Grammont grew red in the face, either by anger or embarrassment I couldn't be sure. "Then I shall be as clear as possible for you: I challenge you to a Duel!"

* * *

To call Albion merely unstable sounds right to those outside its borders, but to those within, at times it seems like a new level of Hell.

This was doubly true now that a demon was cutting a path for the Nobles rise to power through the old Royal Family. This had ceased to be a civil war; it was now a massacre.

A small manor castle was the demon's target this day, the slaughter being the horror story to come that evening. The men under its command watched, mesmerized, as it tore through the front lines to the house's front steps in a single bound, its large matte black warhammer held in an over-sized black gauntlet leading the way.

With each swing, men, horses, even war machines disappeared into a dark void, never to be seen again.

* * *

The crowd of onlookers had doubled by the time Guiche and his opponent reached the appointed battleground. Now flush with his impending victory, the Young Grammont suddenly felt merciful.

"I would truly hate to destroy something of Louise's. Should you ask forgiveness now, it shall be granted."

The human familiar suddenly slapped a fist into his open palm. "Oh Snap, you're right man! Thanks for reminding me!"

Guiche started to grin until he heard what was said next. "Oh Great and Mighty Primus, floating in the Heavens! I humbly ask forgiveness for the violence that I must now perform upon this idiot's face before me. If it is within your logic center to bestow, please grant me the vector needed to break the womanizing fool's nose in fifteen different places with but one blow! 01000001 01001101 01000101 010011101, end-of-line. Till All Are One..."

The crowd started laughing as the young noble's face grew rather cross. "If that is how you wish it, peasant, then I shall oblige you!"

* * *

_Ryu Gabriev vs. Guiche the Bronze_

_Duel 1!_

_Let's ROCK!_

* * *

He quickly whipped his faux rose wand making petals fall to the ground. As they touched the lawn a column of light erupted forth and soon an armored being stood at attention facing the dude from another dimension.

Said dude merely smirked and popped his knuckles. "Armored punching bag, eh? Good. I could use the workout today."

Guiche made a gesture with his wand making the golem fly towards the G-cyborg. It swung a fierce punch that connected solidly with Ryu's body, making a rather odd clang.

Seconds later, the young Gramont discovered why when the punching arm was ripped clean from the body and then used to swat the rest of the construct into scrap. Now he could see the hardened eyes of his opponent, the mangled arm of the former golem firmly in hand, and the smirk of confidence on his face.

"If this's the best you can do, I really doubt this will be a fair fight." With that the Texan took a neutral fighting stance as his smirk vanished. "Let's dance."

* * *

Elsewhere Louise had finally gotten tired of waiting and began stomping about the garden party looking for her missing familiar.

"I know that he's going to be rebellious, but does he HAVE to disappear like this?!" Her fuming and moving suddenly subdued as she lowered her head. "It's not fair I get such a thing and everyone else doesn't! Why couldn't he have been a griffin or a dragon or something?"

Her head tilted with her thoughts as she began looking at C.D. strapped to her wrist. _'Then again, I've never seen anyone able to transform into armor like that before. But what sort of weapon can a shield make?'_

Suddenly C.D.'s screen flashed. _**You seem to be lost in thought, Controller Louise. Do you have a technical question you wish me to answer?**_

"No, not- ...yes. Yes I do."

_**Please proceed.**_

Louise began to frown. "Why does my dumb familiar act the way he does?"

_**While that isn't truly a technical question, I am still capable of providing a limited opinion on the subject. Pilot Gabriev explained the nation of his origins to you, yes?**_

She nodded. "Yes, some odd kingdom called Texas within the land of You-Essay I believe. Not that I understand anything of this so-called other world he is from."

_**For it to be better understood, some back history of America must be first revealed. In the beginning, America - or rather the United States - was a simple colony of the chief world power at the time, the Empire of Great Britain. This colony, however, was incredibly rich in natural resources and arable land, making its indentured tributes to the Empire quite valuable. However, the continued injustices and indignities heaped upon the colonial 'cash cow' soon drove it's residents to rebellion.**_

The young Valliere nodded her head in understanding, she'd heard of things like this before. "And naturally the colony was subdued in the end right?"

_**Negative. Due to guerrilla tactics, allies that had a stake in Britain's failure, and an unwavering valor in the hearts of the people, the colony was actually successful in freeing itself from the Empire, breaking it's growing stranglehold upon the world. Furthermore, the territory that would become Texas was the site of another land grab by a superior foreign power. Again, valor would prove strong enough to rout those who sought to take what wasn't theirs.**_

"So what you're saying is that my familiar is the descendant of rebels and unruly thugs..." Louise sighed, growing tired with the exposition. "Naturally. I must be cursed somehow. "

_**Actually, I was referring to Pilot Gabriev's qualification to be a successful pilot without any actual formal training. His hard-headedness is a rather useful trait considering the nature of the G-Stone.**_

"What is a G-Stone anyway? Some sort of Amulet?"

The device would've answered had not a group of students dashed by at that moment heading for Vestri Court wondering aloud if Guiche could defeat someone that could destroy bronze golems with nothing but his fists.

_**It would seem Pilot Gabriev has run afoul of the Nobility once again. This unit recommends being nearby in case he requires assistance.**_

A growl in her throat, Louise ran for Vestri Court as fast as she could, thrice cursing the young man who again was bringing chaos into her life.

* * *

As the minutes began to pass in the duel, a stalemate was quickly reached.

The young Grammont would make golem after golem, and the dude from another dimension would spend seconds ripping it apart. Eventually the battlefield gained a crude circle of Valkyrie parts, some stained with blood from the human familiar's arms and hands.

As the battle reached another lull, the two combatants took to their ends of the circle to catch their breath.

"You are very impressive commoner. I doubt many could hold on to such stubborn pride for so long. If you apologize now, I'm sure we can get you to a healer before those wounds scar over in a nasty way." Guiche gazed around the battlefield at the dozens of destroyed golems and began smirking as a plan formed in his head.

Not that Ryu noticed while trying to get his breathing under control. "I... don't tend to scar that badly.. .Thanks for the concern though." Finally the G-cyborg stood tall and locked eyes with his opponent. "Bring it!"

The noble's expression turned sinister as he lifted his wand high. "O Gracious Earth! Grant me again control of metal, so that I might ensnare the one that opposes me!"

Suddenly the many littered parts of Valkyries around the both of them liquefied into a pale green mass which then collected in the center of the ring, reforming into a giant armored fist!

"While I haven't quite yet mastered making a full golem from earth or bronze, this single fist should be enough to crush your will!"

The Texan blanched at the sight before him. "Ohhh-kay. That's just cheating."

The other nobles on hand backed off several feet, widening the circle greatly. Ryu took full advantage of this as he began dodging and weaving around the metal hand's attempts to grab or crush him. "Go Away! I don't wanna be chosen by the big metal hand in the sky!"

"Stop talking nonsense and let me crush you!"

The hand came down in a wide palm-slap and the human familiar made his move, running up the fingers, hand, and arm before jumping off the impromptu ramp heading straight for his opponent.

Guiche cringed and held his arms in front of his face while Ryu grinned the grin of the victorious. "It's all over for the Pretty Boi, folks!"

But just then the massive metal fist swung around in a circle like a ships' boom and collided with the Texan's side flinging him far away from the enclosed group of people and into one of the marble walls of the courtyard, a spiderweb of cracks extending from the impact site. Slowly gravity took hold again as his body slid down to the lawn below. Gasps of shock and fear radiated from the crowd.

In the crowd, Teana felt her blood chill. He wasn't moving.

He had been so brave trying to defend her honor from that nobleman, and he wasn't moving.

When he moved in front of her before the duel started her heart gave off a little flutter, and he wasn't moving.

It was all her fault! Why had she picked up that stupid bottle? She had no idea how she would live with herself after this and... he was _moving_?!

Her feet gained a life of their own as she hurried to his side, just as Louise reached him as well from the other side.

They both looked on as Ryu slowly rose to his feet, swaying back and forth slightly. Each girl took hold of an arm to steady him just as a hacking cough shook his frame and a glob of blood flew from his mouth to the grass below.

"Please stop, Mr. Ryu! You'll die if this keeps up!" The maid's eyes met his own as the Texan turned his gaze to her.

He smiled and mumbled lightly to himself. "Every time I see that face, I'm expecting Yuugi to pop out of the woodwork for some reason..."

"Who?"

"I'm fine, Teana. I still need to spank that arrogant punk before I'm finished here."

The young Valliere looked just as concerned, though her tone indicated otherwise. "Listen to her, you fool! There's no point in risking your life against something like this!"

The dude from another dimension pried himself from their grasp and began moving back to Guiche and the giant hand. He started speaking, slowly at first but gaining strength as his strides grew more confident. "Against something like this? This is nothing."

A green glow began to build under the Texan's shirt. "I stood up against an intergalactic horde who came to subjugate my people. When it was found out who I was under my helmet, men of high standing thought they could steal my honor and my strength because they thought they were _above _me. I stood against them as well. You think that your magic makes you _better than me_, boy?!"

He finally broke into a dead run barreling toward the mage-in-training. "My name is Ryu Gabriev, The Prince of Braves! You now face the Shield that can protect everyone! ID ARMOR - EQUIP!"

_**Threat Potential has cleared requirement conditions for emergency override. Stage 1 Armor Restraints - Disabled. **_

A white light shot out of the device on Louise's wrist and surrounded Ryu completely as the metal hand lunged to intercept. A second later a shrill noise cut the air as a bright green light bisected the hand at the junction of middle and ring fingers, giving the now armored cyborg the opening needed to reach the other side.

The Young Grammont fell on his butt as his opponent landed in front of him, his new form gleaming in the afternoon light. The helmet had two small straight horns forming a wide-V shape along with two curved tusks framing the face and an odd visor along the eyes. The breastplate had a 'G' emblazoned upon the right pectoral and layered pauldrons fitted over each other on the shoulders. Greaves, gauntlets, and an armor skirt around his opponent's waist completed the set over a form fitting dark green body suit. Finally, upon the right arm was a circular silver shield with a wide glowing green edge that was now being pointed at his opponent.

"Your move, Hoss."

The young noble's answer was short and to the point.

He fainted.

Ryu sighed and shrugged. "Not my way to end things, but it'll do."

The Courtyard exploded in a frenzied cheer as Louise and Teana moved to the victor's side.

"Are you alright, Mr. Ryu?" The brown haired maid eyed the glowing shield with a bit of awe and wonder. One stroke, and he easily cut through such thick metal, just like a storybook hero.

"You are beyond stupid! You're flung into a wall, cough up your own blood, and you STILL charge headlong into your enemy's grasp! Stupid, stupid, STUPID familiar!"

The dude from another dimension rolled his eyes. "It worked, didn't it?"

* * *

The last few soldiers loyal to the crown in Albion within the manor had barricaded the door and were awaiting the demon's attack to come. Behind them stood the Good Duke Aramesi and his family.

Their fate was certain, but they would face their ends with true noble pride!

The first slam against the door startled everyone. With the second, the door and barricade both were splintered by enormous metal fists as the Demon tore into the room. One soldier tried spearing the creature as he came in, only to be caught in it's grip and crushed within his armor.

It entered their view, the light of the starting fires giving an eerie glint to it's eyes.

Raising it's right arm, a section of it's chest opened up, forcing out a translucent ring of light. It then put it's arm within the circle as the arm itself began to spin like a top. It reared back and thrust out its arm while saying one simple phrase.

"_**Broken... Phantom!**_"

* * *

The next few days passed with relative quiet for Louise and her Familiar.

Relative, that is, to a passing freight train.

The whole school was abuzz with the duel and its aftermath, including the revelation that the human familiar was a Prince of some kind. Naturally this meant odd rumors were made and mutated. Oddly enough, the servants on campus weren't really joining in the festivities, instead talking about the 'Pride of the Commoners' or something like that.

But since each rumor was proving more outrageous than the last, some students tried to go to the source for the 'truth'. With predictable results.

_"HE IS NOT A PRINCE!"_

_"I DID NOT KIDNAP HIM!"_

_"...NO, I HAVE NOT FOUND OUT HOW BIG HE- DAMN IT ALL, STOP ASKING LEWD QUESTIONS!"_

Regrettably, this meant the young Valliere was in a bad mood almost all the time now, despite Ryu's best efforts to cheer her up.

Currently, the both of them were walking to her first class of the morning, each hoping that the rumor mill would wait until lunch before hitting them with more inane banter. "C'mon Louise, maybe we should just skip your classes today. As it is if your face gets any redder you're gonna pop like an over-ripe cherry."

The pink-haired, red-faced noble simply shook her head. "No. If I don't show up, then those v-vulgar people will think I'm off doing something l-l-l-l-lewd w-with you. This is all your fault!"

The Texan frowned. "And how is that?"

"If you hadn't fought that useless duel with Guiche over that maid, everyone wouldn't have heard that stupid title you gave yourself!" Louise huffed and began walking faster while the dude from another dimension sped up to keep pace.

"How was I to know all the little spore wanted was to get Teana to help him calm down that Montmorency chick? Not like it mattered anyway, since Curly proceeded to lay into him again after the fight." The G-cyborg managed to get alongside Louise before continuing. "And it isn't a title I gave myself. 'Prince of Braves' is the other name I use when in GaoGaiGar. You could kinda say it's like my own Runic Name."

The pinkette suddenly turned on him with an angry glare. "I don't care! It's stupid! You're stupid! You and that stupid armor of yours have turned my life upside-down! Just GO AWAY! I don't want to see you anymore today, understand?!"

Thinking that she might benefit from a little time alone Ryu took the invitation and hauled butt out of there. Minutes later found him laying on the grass in one of the gardens groaning and holding his stomach. "...oro-ro-ro... I'm... gonna die. Since this whole thing began, anytime we got close to the dining hall, those nosy brats kept us from eating. It's only thanks to the Converts Louise and I are alive at all."

Truly, the first converts to the Church of Primus were being rather understanding of the situation... sort of.

They already thought of Ryu as a holy man, not a prince. Which actually wasn't much of a difference in the level of curiosity, come to think of it. But it did help to stave off the worst of rampant hunger with a well-timed snack here and there, so in turn did their High Priest reward them with the First and Second Commandments of Primus.

'Thou Shalt Not Suppress The Will Of Others, as Freedom Is The Right Of All Sentient Beings.'

'Grant To Others What Thou Wish Granted To Thyself In Both Manner and Deed.'

Hopefully, he'd be able to keep thinking of good ones til he reached Ten, but trying to bring forth Words of Wisdom that were hard to twist into fanatic dogma wasn't easy.

Suddenly, a shadow blocked out the light of the morning sun, making the Prince of Braves look up to meet Teana's smiling face above him. "Why are you out here by yourself, Mr. Ryu?"

He smiled back in turn. "Oh just thinking about things. Louise was starting to come to a boil, so I thought it might be best to high-tail it outta there before she exploded."

The maid's smile shifted slightly. "I guess the whole school isn't giving you two a break is it?"

Ryu started to nod before something made him tense, jump up and start looking around frantically. Instinctively the girl moved closer to the G-cyborg as his eyes scanned the garden. "What is it, Mr. Ryu?"

"Thought I heard something. Been almost hearing it ever since the fight with Pretty-Boy."

Teana began looking around nervously. "Is it dangerous?"

He started to shrug before an enormous growl escaped his stomach, driving the dude from another dimension to his knees. "Oro-ro-ro-ro-ro... I'm gonna die... so hungry..."

The servant girl quickly began smiling again before taking the young man's hand and beginning to lead him back to the main building of the campus. "C'mon, Mr. Ryu. I know just what you need!"

"A stimulating meal of fruits, meats, burgers and french fries fed to me by a scantily clad harem of the sexiest anime girls to ever exist?"

She shook her head ignoring the obvious delirium he was under. "Nope! A visit to the kitchen! Everyone's been dying to meet you."

The G-cyborg suddenly stopped walking. "...Kitchen? As in a room completely devoted to the preparation, distribution, and overall essence of food?"

Ryu pulled his hand free from Teana before gaining a manic grin and scooping her up into his arms bridal style. "What are we waiting for?!" He then took off like a bat outta hell to the tune of the girl's surprised squeal leaving a trail of dust in his wake.

Not to mention an unknown eavesdropper...

* * *

Minutes later the dude from another dimension was happily stuffing his face as the kitchen staff looked on. He managed to get out a small apology for his manners before continuing the feeding frenzy, to which the head chef, Marteau, just smiled.

"Think nothing of it, Our Shield! If anything it proves what Teana's been saying about you without a doubt. No noble alive would dare eat with such gusto over simple leftovers! Ha Ha Ha!"

The rest of the staff joined in the belly laugh while Ryu nodded in agreement. "Wasting food is a sin. Especially stuff like this!"

After a few more gulps of juicy bird flesh, the Texan started to really notice the crowd gathering. "Hey guys, you don't have to wait on me hand and foot or something like that. Any of you wanna join me here?"

A few of the staff hemmed and hawed around the subject; after all, who was worthy to eat at the same table as someone who could easily shrug off being thrown into a wall before charging straight through a powerful Earth mage's spell to get to him on the other side?

As the hero of the moment started looking around, a perplexed expression on his face and turkey leg in hand, someone in the back decided to sacrifice another for propriety's sake and pushed the one of the maids in front of them, Teana ironically, forward and coincidentally into Ryu's lap.

The now heavily flushed girl slowly looked up and gazed at the G-cyborg's face as his puzzlement turned amused. "Care for a turkey leg?"

She had a hard time answering over the sound of her blush and the roar of laughter from the others. Finally someone got her a chair to sit in as their guest got back to his meal. Taking a few bites of the food she had the brown haired maid tried to strike up conversation. "S-so how can you gain that amazing armor so fast Mr. Ryu?"

"mm? It's because of C.D. and the subspace pocket the gear is stored in. It allows for instantaneous transmission of the armor in a beam of light, which then reforms into the parts I need."

Suddenly he realized he had left his audience in the dust as he looked up at their rather confused expressions. Flushing lightly, Ryu tried again."Erm... Basically, the uh, the armor is kept somewhere that's really hard to reach most of the time, and only me and Louise can bring it out quickly."

The master of culinary might nodded his head in understanding. "Hmmm. To think such powerful magic existed in this world."

'_Tech so advanced it might as well be magic... Too too funny.' _ The dude from another dimension smirked. "Speaking of powerful things, my good chef, what's up with the nickname?"

The chef's grin turned manic. "You like it? Anyone impressive enough to defeat a noble of all people with naught but a shield truly deserves a name to match! Which reminds me... Dalton! A bottle of Tristain's finest for the young lovers!"

Said 'lovers' soon had flushed cheeks, though one set hadn't lost his smile. "Is it just me or are they trying to make something happen?"

* * *

An hour or so later found me wandering the halls of the school with a wine bottle in one hand, and a glass in the other. Now normally I tend not to drink since I rather detest the normal taste of most alcohol, but this stuff! These folks have an actual SWEET wine, no bitter aftertaste, no turncoat flavor, just true tasty blends of fermented grape juices all the way!

I love this place right now...so much. So much in fact...a goofy song sounds right to do.

I started to sway in tune as I began singing.

"_I love to laugh.. he-he-he-he-hee!"_

"_Loud and long and clear!"_

"_I love to laugh... ha-ha-ha-ha-hah!"_

"_It's getting worse every year!"_

I stumbled into the courtyard where a few students were as I moved into the next part.

"_The more I laugh... hee-hee-ha-ha!"_

"_The more I fill with glee!"_

"_And the more the glee.. gee-hee-hee-ha!"_

"_The more I'm a merrier me!"_

I bumped into one of the male students, wrapped an arm around his neck and tipped his head back before making him down a cupful o' the bottle's contents which seemed to hit him almost instantly from how he started swaying about when I let him go.

I shook my head and continued.

"_So embarrassing..."_

"_...but the more I'm a merrier me!"_

My forced drinking partner suddenly tried to tackle me before I caught his arm and held him somewhat steady. I think the wine's getting to me.

"Hey Buddy! Did ya know that:"

"_Some people laugh through their noses..."_

"_Sounding something like this... hmm-hm-hm-hm."_

"_Some people laugh through their teeth, goodness sakes!"_

"_Hissing and fizzing like snakes... ss-ss-ss."_

The students around us started laughing themselves as my friend started to puzzle out what I sang. "Tha-tha doesn' sound dignifried er, dignified at all."

I nodded and continued.

"_Some laugh too fast..." _

"_Some only blast!"_

"_Others, they twitter like birds!"_

"_Then there's a kind"_

'_what can't make up their mind." _

Now we both started laughing ourselves locking arm in arm and doing what would never pass for dancing were we sober. Well, if he was sober anyway, I was tipsy and couldn't give a damn right now.

"_When things strike me as funny"_

"_I can't hide it inside,"_

"_and squeak - hee - as the squeaklers do..."_

The two of us took a tumble through a few tables and chairs setup outside, the both of us cracking up easily now.

"_I've got to let go,"_

"_with a Ho-ho-ho-HO!"_

"_And a ha-ha-ha-ha! Too!"_

Suddenly we were both lifted into the air like magic. "Ah good, somebody's seen Mary Poppins here besides me."

The crowd that had gathered was enjoying the spectacle while I finished up the last part for the both of us.

"_We love to laugh,"_

"_Loud and long and clear!"_

"_We love to laugh,"_

"_SO everybody can hear!"_

"_The more you laugh,"_

"_The more you fill with glee..."_

"_The more the glee,"_

"_The more we're a merrier We!"_

"The more we're a merrier we!" was repeated by the both of us before we began just laughing and laughing out loud, finishing the song.

Suddenly though, my new buddy flew off in one direction and me in another, going through an open window and making a nice one point landing on my ass and rolling onto my back.

It wouldn't be until later that I'd find out I had been dancing with Guiche the whole time.

For the moment I was more interested in where I had been flown to. Didn't take long to guess however...

"Welcome to my room, Sir Ryu. You sing rather proudly, don't you?"

I blinked before looking straight up from my perspective and seeing a familiar set of tan thigh-high boots. "It depends on whether I've had a few or not, Kirche."

* * *

Chapter End.


	3. Chapter 3: The Rival, Revan

Disclaimer: All persons, objects or series belong to their creators and this work in no way is meant to profit off of them. Just a simple author enjoying his hobby for others to read in a free world.

~Speech~: Wi-fi transmission

'_Speech'_ :Thoughts

"_**Speech**_": Audio Speaker Output

Revised 5/29/2013

* * *

Chapter 3: The Rival, Revan

* * *

Once Mamoru and Kaidou had been sent on their way, everyone in the shuttle Kushinada breathed a collective sigh of relief.

The battle was over. Earth was safe, but soon, the micro-dimension would completely collapse on the GGG within it. Not the best ending by far, but what point was there in despairing over the inevitable? The universe was saved, and that was enough. Now, they could do nothing but wait out the end, assuredly mere minutes away.

That had been three days ago.

Something had given them a reprieve from total destruction, and a chance to act meant there was hope. For those who made the Oath Sworn Through Courage, even a slim chance was worth taking!

Currently, the majority of the engineering unit were busying themselves with helping to repair the heavily damaged members of the Brave Robot Corps, but without many replacement parts the odds of getting them back up to any sort of fighting trim were slim. Those that weren't assessing the redundant systems of the J-Ark for use as salvage were trying to decipher the reason for their current situation.

At the moment, the master of the Titanium-head Driver, Chief Koutarou Taiga, was checking up on the research team's progress. "Any luck discovering what's been going on, Professor?"

The diminutive genius shrugged with a helpless smirk on his face before turning back to his terminal. "Nothing yet, Chief."

The elder Shishiou quickly tapped a set of keys, causing the lights to dim and an overhead display to begin projecting onto the far wall. The 3-D image was a hollow ovoid with a miniature of the ship inside it. "At first this Repli-Dimension was steadily decreasing in volume, what with nothing to sustain its composition, like a balloon with a steady leak."

As he narrated the ovoid began shrinking steadily until it reached about half its beginning volume before slowing to a stop, then reversing course and beginning to grow. "But now, _something_ is filling up the balloon, so to speak. The readings we took yesterday and today show an increase in the overall size of the space we're inhabiting. Odder still, I began scanning the void out there for anything out of the ordinary, and... Well, you just have to see this."

Several more buttons were tapped and the diagram moved to the side, letting another display be seen, this one a report of atmospheric compounds currently present outside the ship. Not inherently interesting, save for one thing:

Various gasses were being detected, including one specifically needed for human life - and the concentrations were rising.

The President of the Space Development Corporation stumbled back slightly in stunned surprise. "Hydrogen?! Oxygen?! It should be empty vacuum outside! How can this be?"

* * *

Back at the Academy the newest G-cyborg ran out the door of the dorm and back behind one of the retaining walls looking a bit singed around the edges. Taking a peek to make sure his quarry wasn't following him, he slumped down breathing a sigh of relief.

"Geez, if that's how women around here react to a guy's age, it's no wonder they lie about their own."

At first the meeting with Kirche was going rather well; she was trying to seduce him, and he wasn't really putting up much of a fight about it. Then the Q & A about his age came up.

Little known fact: Through an odd quirk of genetics, our hero looked much younger than he actually was. Now, add to that the fact that his G-Stone was turning his will and courage into _life energy_, suffusing his every cell, and you could see why the fire-haired firecracker would be fooled into thinking he was in her bracket.

The facts: Kirche was 18. Ryu was 28.

And upon this discovery, she dropped him like a hot potato... then proceeded to try making him into one for real. He just made it out of there with his clothes relatively intact. "Well, that's what I get for thinking I'd automatically travel the 'Route of Saito' in regards to Miss Boom-Boom. Ah well, given that whole 'Zero' mess with Louise, it's not like I could've said yes anyway."

Thoughts of a nice rendezvous forgotten, the dude from another dimension started off for Louise's room for a well deserved nap.

* * *

"You know, I have to give the late Duke one bit of credit - he had guts. I mean, actually _jumping in the path_ of my Broken Phantom so that it might veer off course was just stunning. Granted, said guts are now decorating the walls, but what can ya do, right?"

I couldn't help but start laughing a bit at my little morbid joke, before taking a good look at all I had won. A massive keep and the surrounding lands under my control, an awesome throne room - minus the chair, but a couple of the smiths were hard at work remedying that oversight - and thanks to the Duke, lovely ladies to 'entertain'... me, that is. Pity they weren't in a laughing mood. But I guess being left shackled and kneeling in front of your captor will do that to a girl, er girls.

That's right, the Duke's MILF of a widow and her teenage daughter were still alive. Long blond hair, green-eyes and figures that would turn heads no matter what they were wearing. Which reminds me, no way that blood's gonna come out of those dresses. Guess I'll have to have something new made for them. Hope you're watching, Jabba, 'cause I'm about to outdo ya in a big way!

"My husband was twice the man you are, you fiend. He sacrificed himself nobly, protecting us with his last breath..." Ugh, she was crying now. _Bo-oring_. "...so no matter what may happen, I WILL NOT let you desecrate his name in such a way!"

Smirking, I walked up and bent forward til I was almost nose-to-nose with her before I reached over with a hand and patted her cheek. "Personally speaking, babe, be glad I'm not taking the boys' advice on what to feed the dragons tonight..."

And then she did it.

The little bitch actually had the gall to bite me - _me!_ - right then and there, on my hand, in between the thumb and forefinger, trying to sink those pearly whites into my flesh as far as they would go!

I reacted of course, pimp-slapping her hard enough that she was torn off of my now bleeding hand and collapsing back onto the marble floor unconscious with a rather nice bruise forming on her face. The daughter's in hysterics now as I move up to where her mother now lay. "...shit. Forgot how strong I am now. Hope she's still kicking..."

Thankfully I was rewarded by the slow groan of the painfully waking coming from the elder of this matched set. Before she could rouse fully I took a firm hold of her by the neck and hoisted her up to my eye level. "Two bits of advice, honey. First, 'Never bite the hand that feeds you.' Second, 'Do. _Not._ Make. Me. _Angry._'"

I emphasized my point with a subtle squeezing motion that made her squirm in my grip. Time to drive the point home.

Before the ex-duchess knew what was happening, I got a firm hold of her ruined dress and ripped the front clean off, showing her full bosom to me in all it's glory, before I jerked her face eye-to-eye with my own and let her have it. "I _OWN_ YOU! I OWN YOUR _DAUGHTER_! AND THE ONLY THING THAT KEEPS ME FROM LETTING MY MEN OUTSIDE THIS ROOM ENJOY THE BOTH OF YOU TILL YOU _BREAK_ IS MY ATTITUDE ON THE SUBJECT!"

Taking a few breaths to let that sink in, I was about to continue when something began making me jerk around, dropping the MILF to the floor. Soon I was made to take a kneeling position before I heard that smug asshat's voice. "My, my. Such a fierce temper you have, Lord Revan. One could hear your howling all the way at the front gate."

I still managed to smirk despite the position I was in. "Nice to see you too, Cromwell."

Soon he walked into view, smirking to himself in his trademark green and brown robes of his station. A round fez of the same color scheme was on his curled, light blond hair. That damn magic ring that he had on his hand was flickering lightly, keeping me rooted to the spot before him. "I have been informed from my contacts in Tristain that a young man wielding a strange armor like nothing ever seen has appeared there. It sounded unusually familiar, so I believed a personal visit here to inspect the soldiers under your command was only proper..."

Instantly my mind ground to a halt. Tristain. Young Man. _ARMOR!?_ "If you're thinking that was me, Cromwell, I've been busy here until just recently. You just caught me settling in." Only one way to be sure. "Tell me, did your 'ears in Tristain' hear when this new guy showed up?"

The leader of Reconquista nodded. "The report said no more than a few days ago, around the time you began to work for us."

"And are these guys as good with their eyes as with their ears?"

Again he nodded. "Yes, an almost exact duplicate of the armor you wear, save that the chest plate looks something like a lion's head."

I felt my face pull into a deep grin at that news. Whoever this git is, he's in last year's mecha! "Hoss, we've got a copycat infestation for sure. Tricky little buggers, but they can be killed. Gimme a few hours and I'll find out just how bad things are over there."

I could tell he was about to decline, so I quickly mentioned GaoFar's power of invisibility that would easily allow me to sneak onto the grounds undetected and back out again with none being the wiser. "...And even if they DO see me, all they've seen is 'an unusual young man in some type of magical armor causing a ruckus.' No way in hell they can trace it back to Albion and our boys here."

The Fearless Leader hemmed and hawed for a few minutes more before releasing me from the ring's grasp. "Make sure none of these... _copycats_... survive."

* * *

As the sun set in Tristain's western sky, the dude from another dimension suddenly ran out of the dorm tower with his irate mistress hot on his heels.

Apparently, the impromptu song-and-dance number didn't go over well with Louise after it made the rounds in the Academy Rumor Mill. That the 'rumor' was told to her by one of the third-year boys that had been burned by Kirche (literally and figuratively) only made a bad situation worse.

"Come back here and take your punishment like a man, you dog in strange clothing!" Louise had managed to get a hold of a well-made riding crop, and was proving her inherent skill with it by keeping the G-cyborg on the run.

Now if she could only get him with a good hit or two...

"Not a chance! I am _not _taking the hits for whoever told you that stupid rumor!" Taking a running start, Ryu managed to leap up onto one of the connecting covered pathways from the central tower and stopped to catch his breath. As the young mage-in-training ran up to the edge of the path, the Texan smirked and crossed his arms. "Besides, why the hell would I need gryphon feathers, specifically? Any kind should do..."

The Valliere girl's frown deepened. "That's because gryphon feathers are really soft and-" Her face became as pink as her hair. "Th-th-th-that's n-none of your business!"

"WA ha ha ha! Something you wanna share with the class, Louise?"

Pink cheeks became bright red and Louise was just about to lay into him with all the shrill her voice could manage, when both of them started to hear a loud roar in the distance.

To the noble girl, it sounded like a dragon with a toothache...

The G-cyborg thought it sounded a little more like-

"...booster rockets?"

The roaring din grew ever closer. The two of them began looking for the source, until finally the pinkette noticed a flare in the distance growing brighter as it approached.

It cleared the wall on a lazy arc to the ground before landing square on its feet and sliding across the lawn to a stop, carving a deep furrow in the grass along the way. Slowly, the strange intruder rose to its full height, which easily dwarfed any man. The setting sun glinted off of the shining black, red, and gold of its frame, which rather easily resembled GaoGaiGar.

Or as Ryu put it, "Holy Hammerblows! It's GaoFighGar!"

Indeed, the Fighting King of Braves stood before them as another set of powered armor, but colored differently to give it a more sinister look. Its most outstanding feature was the glowing red stone locked into the helmet, much like a G-stone, yet different.

Ryu's outburst proved to be a mistake when the deep crimson eyes of the mechanoid focused right him. "_**Didn't take long to find you, did it? Saves me the trouble of ripping this place apart, so I guess I'll be merciful and make this quick.**_"

Ryu leapt down from his perch and moved in front of the young Valliere. "Louise, I need you to stay close until I transform, then get clear."

Louise was shocked. "You expect a Duchess to just run away like a common-"

"THIS ISN'T A GAME, LOUISE! I have no idea how this guy got here, but he wants _me_. I'll distract him long enough for you to get help, understand?"

Her answer came in the form of the pinkette dashing past him and turning her wand on the intruder. "A noble doesn't run from danger! _In... Ex... Bet... Flame. _**Fireball!**"

A small explosion shook the courtyard, but when the dust cleared, the mechanoid was unharmed. "_**HYAHAHAHAHA! That's IT?! You'd be better off making fireworks, kid!**_"

Taking what advantage he could, Ryu summoned his ID Armor and took a swing at the taller armor, only to have his shield's light edge give only a light scratch to the left gauntlet.

"_**You'd best bring out the big guns, rookie, or this won't be any fun... for me.**_"

The G-cyborg began backing away slightly as his opponent started forward. _'Yea, right. Without anything to hold his attention, I'll be easy pickings for this bastard when I start the process!'_

* * *

_Ryu Gabriev vs. Unknown Warrior!_

_Duel 1!_

_LET'S ROCK!_

* * *

"_**Heh. The only thing 'unknown' is whether or not you survive this.**_"

The dude from another dimension stumbled suddenly. "Hang on, you're hearing the announcer too?!"

The answer from his opponent was drowned out by the roar of the Broken Phantom rocketing past Ryu's head, reminding our hero to fight now and worry about the fourth wall later.

"Oh, like you'd be able to ignore that revelation!"

Another fist nearly missed his head and the running battle was on. The Texan would duck, weave, and strike in hit-and-run moves that only managed to annoy his opponent, while each swinging fist, each Broken Phantom would be missed by slimmer and slimmer margins.

The Armored Giant began simmering in his temper. _**"Hold still and Lemme crush you! You and I both know you can't keep this up forever!"**_

Glad for the slight respite, the Dude from another dimension began catching his breath. "L-look, man, why are you doing this? Aren't you part of G-Command?"

GaoFighGar suddenly stiffened, before looking long and hard at Ryu. Suddenly, it reared back and began laughing in the heavily modulated voice that reminded the Texan disturbingly of Arthas the Lich King. After a few moments it finally wound down, causing the armored giant to lean forward slightly, glaring down with monstrous, glowing crimson eyes.

_**"Bionet all the way, baby! You are looking at the hottest item to fly off the shelves for the discerning warmonger, the single man army that can annihilate any defense structure or city, the Crimson Death, GaoFighGar!"**_

GaoFighGar took one step forward as his right arm began to spin. _**"And now, copycat, I will burn you to a crisp, and scatter your ashes to the winds. I will destroy this place, leaving no brick undamaged. The only thing to hint at what took place here will be a smoldering crater! I. Will. KNOCK. YOU. DOWN!"**_

Suddenly its gaze turned to Louise and the spinning gauntlet was fired. "_**Starting with your little friend!**_"

It would take too long to reach her. Even with him running full tilt, he'd be unable to cross the distance and do something to stop the attack. Time slowed to a crawl in the young Brave's perception as a warmth filled his body. With the warmth came a purpose, a need that was quickly answered.

A heartbeat before the spinning fist of death would have collided with the young Valliere girl, her familiar appeared before her and his shield met the gauntlet head on, the impact pushing him back an inch or so, but no more.

"GaoMachines or no... I'm not letting you hurt Louise!" The spinning fist was then deflected off of Ryu and flew on its return path back to his opponents arm, also allowing said opponent to notice a strange white glow on the Texan's left hand.

'_Is that how he moved so fast?'_

It never got a chance to ask as, moments after the arm reattached, a sudden large and rather familiar gout of flame forced the giant back slightly.

* * *

_HERE COMES A NEW DAREDEVIL!_

* * *

"Never have I been so glad to hear that phrase," the human familiar mumbled as three people levitated down to land in front of Louise and himself.

"Young man, if it is a man inside that armored shell, it was probably not the best idea to attack the premiere magical academy in the land while its teachers were getting ready for a quiet evening. Denying a mage his recreation tends to make one rather cranky," the eldest of the three recited in a lecturing monotone.

Running his hand through his long white beard, he continued. "I am Osman, headmaster of this school. To my left is Professor Colbert, an expert in fire magics and research. To my right is my lovely assistant, Miss Longueville, who at the moment was all but ready to show me her-"

The statement would sadly go unfinished as a feminine hand snaked out and swatted Osman hard, knocking him down. "Old Osman, it would not be wise to spread rumors that weren't true."

The iron adversary just shook his head at the new arrivals antics before simply turning his right arm in their direction and launching his Broken Phantom.

But nothing could've prepared it to see the sight of Old Osman quickly standing to his feet and with one gentle wave of his staff create a wall of air that completely deflected the inbound gauntlet. "I should mention my old Runic Name before we get started. In the old days before I was made headmaster, I was known as Osman the Prismatic."

GaoFighGar simply charged forward at the group of mages, its jets granting speed that far belied its size. Its control was a bit less impressive, however, when the whole group disappeared from view, leaving it to crash into the boundary wall.

Osman then reappeared behind the unit and began muttering a spell. "_Est... mer... come... wind... dar... fre... Lumin... __**Illusion!**_"

One mage became three, then six, then finally twelve. "Come on, Young Man! Care to guess where I am?"

A metal fist plowed through one Osman that quickly turned to dust in the wind. "Oops. Wasn't that one."

Another swing, dust again. All the Osmans began jeering and taunting in that annoying old man way that quickly turned the metal monster into a toddler throwing a tantrum. Punch after punch was thrown with nothing to show for it but a fine sparkling powder beginning to coat the grass around them. _**"**__**GRRRRAAAGHGAAAA! HOLD STILL AND DIE, DAMN YOU!**_**"**

With their opponent thoroughly distracted, Miss Longueville now turned to the mage-in-training and her familiar with a rather pointed look. "I assume the both of you can explain this intruder's presence here?"

Ryu's face grimaced at the implied meaning. "We _did not_ provoke this guy!"

"Exactly! I was simply trying to discipline my familiar for his behavior earlier today when th-th-this _thing _flew over the wall and attacked us!"

Osman's assistant smirked lightly to herself over how the two of them were acting in sync with each other. "Well, be that as it may, you need to transform completely now before Old Osman runs out of Prism Dust for that spell he's using."

The dude from another dimension nodded. "Got it. But you and Colbert need to keep him busy while that's going on. I'm vulnerable during Final Fusion."

The ex-noble nodded. "Understood. Mr. Colbert?"

"Of course, Miss Longueville." With that, the both of them joined the fray with walls of earth and fire streams adding to their opponent's enraged state.

The Texan turned to his Controller. "Let's do it Louise. Mine may be the older model, but GaoGaiGar should be able to fight this guy on an even field."

"If it's so easy to do, why can't you do it yourself?"

_**Final Fusion carries a risk to the pilot's life during transformation. If the GaoMachines are not on target to attach properly, Pilot Gabriev will be injured severely, if not killed.**_

An explosion from the battle scene lit Ryu's blanching face. "Thanks C.D. My life's not complete 'til you remind us of the potential mortal peril I'm in with my current career choice."

The G-cyborg ran toward the escalating battle, not noticing that Louise wasn't behind him and instead buried deep in her thoughts.

"Okay, we'll move to the far side of him and then-" He finally looked back. "Louise! What in Heaven's name are you waiting for?!"

As she looked up at the Dude from another Dimension, a chill ran down his spine at the fear in her tear-filled eyes. "W-w-w-w-wh-what i-i-if... What if you mess up? I-I don't wanna be known as the mage who killed her familiar!"

Only one thought ran through the Texan's mind. '_Ohhhh Shit..._'

* * *

Not now, not now_,__** dammit, Louise, NOT NOW!**_ Couldn't you have chosen a time when we WEREN'T in mortal danger to have this crisis?!

Gah! Stop it, man! Panicking in time with her isn't gonna help anyone but the Madman of Steel back there. How exactly do you convince someone effectively abused by the very system she clings to like a teddy bear to trust in the unexpected?

...to take a chance and hope for what could be?

To... to actually... kick reason to the curb... and do the_ impossible_.

Kamina... you flippin' _genius_.

"Louise, I'm not gonna lie to you. This is dangerous stuff, and in attempting to stop it I could die. _We_ could die." I took her chin in my hand and lifted her eyes to meet mine. "But something else is true about this situation: If no one does anything, people _will_ die."

I stepped back from her and started letting off a light glow from my G-stone. "I understand if you don't wish to help; that's your right, and frankly what someone with common sense would do. But this guy's gonna run amok if I stand idly by."

As I started turning back around my arm was grabbed tight by the little lady. "NO! It- uh, they... J-just let someone else risk his neck!"

"And who would that be, Louise Valliere? What can stand up to a technology that is hundreds of years ahead of your entire world? _Magic_? The best of mages are here, now, and they're just managing to hold him back, buying us the time we need to bring out the real powerhouse."

She then let go and slumped to her knees on the ground."But you'll die... and I'll be nothing again... I have no magic... n-no allies here... j-just a-a-a useless noblewoman who can only be married off to help my family."

I looked back at her. "I'm all you have?" She blushed deeply at how that sounded, but then nodded slightly. "If that is true Kiddo, then I have only one bit of advice: Don't believe in any of those things, even what you believe of yourself. Instead, believe in me... who believes in you."

I had no idea what to expect...

"What in Brimir's name does THAT mean?!"

...but she still didn't have to scream like that.

Seconds later, a larger explosion roared out from the battlefield, making the both of us gaze upon the battlefield to see all three mages strewn around their armored opponent, all groaning. From the small look I managed to get, it looked like each mage's element was used against another.

"_**HYAHAHAHAHA! Got you, you little rats! Now... to deal with you, copycat.**_"

GaoFighGar began moving towards us slowly, like a lion uncaring of the threat of his prey. Just when I thought my story was about to end rather abruptly, the voice I most wanted to hear finally spoke up again.

"W-well, it seems once again that trying to convince you of your stupidity is a moot issue, if you're willing to say idiotic things like that. I'll agree to this Fusion of yours, but if you die, then by the Queen and Brimir I'll kill you! Understand?!"

I blinked once, twice, then started grinning before turning back to Louise. "Got it. Let's see if we can't do the impossible today!"

I broke into a run toward my opponent, dodging its punch before spring-boarding off its helmet into the sky. "GALEON!"

* * *

_'Oh Founder'_, I thought to myself, '_what's wrong with me?! I just let him go and he's gonna die and WHAT IS THAT?!' _

Something made of grey metal, shaped somewhat like a lion, suddenly flew through the hole that fiend made earlier and towards my Familiar. He shouted "Fusion!_" _at it, and then it somehow split into pieces of armor that covered his arms, legs and chest, covering up that odd green covering all around. The metal beast's head was on his chest, and his arms now had the foreclaws, which started glowing with a light green as he used them against that evil giant thing.

"_**Smug little bastard, HOLD STILL!**_" My fool familiar seemed just as fast as he was before, and those new claws were leaving deep gashes all over that fiend's armor.

As I watched, Ryu pulled back slightly before shouting in surprise. I looked at his enemy, and soon noticed... The gashes were disappearing! This beast _would_ have magically repairing armor, wouldn't he?

It must have noticed, because it began chuckling darkly to itself. "_**Aww too bad, your little kitty claws aren't doing much are they? **_"

"Okay, now that's just cheating," I heard my Familiar say. '_Exactly! What sort of creature would do something so unfair?!'_

It laughed in our faces again. "_**If you think that's bad, let me remind you that you still need to connect with your GaoMachines... **_**and**_**I don't think I'm going to let you.**"_

My familiar snarled before shouting again. "Then put your money where your mouth is, jackass! GAOMACHINES!"

If I live to a hundred years, I shall never forget what happened next. A sudden rumbling began under the ground, and two big cone-shaped drills erupted from the ground as part of some machine that moved on some kind of... segmented belts, I guess. The question in my mind of what it might be was answered by the device on my wrist.

_**DrillGao. An Armored Borer Unit capable of tunneling through solid rock with ease as well as unobstructed travel at speeds of up to 40 miles per hour.**_

Suddenly I heard a light shrill noise - something like a dragon's croon - before two white winged things flew over the wall, circling around our iron adversary. They began spitting out bolts of light at it, each in a different way: one in large single bursts, and the other in faster, smaller ones.

Again, the Control Device answered my questioning thoughts before I could even ask.

_**BitGao and ByteGao. Twin Flying Assault Drones that use onboard energy weapons to disorient opponents with intermixed rates of fire. When combined with DrillGao, they allow it to fly short distances, as well as increasing the power of the Drones' weaponry. **_

Soon, the "drones" did just that, landing on top of DrillGao and somehow adhering to its rear before attacking the iron monster again. Their blasts of light were now much more powerful, stunning and pushing back the beast.

Were it not for the hum of the last device, I would have never noticed it gliding gently into the battlefield. Ryu jumped upon it's back and began riding it the way one could ride a horse _if they were complete fools_, standing atop it with one side of his body forward, allowing him to tilt for balance.

C.D. continued his introductions.

_**StealthGao. Aerial Support Unit that may be ridden by the Pilot, allowing him to hold air superiority against enemies. It has no weapons, instead relying on its passenger to provide offensive options. **_

"Are there any more machines coming?" I asked, hoping this issue could be resolved quickly.

_**All Units have been assembled. Final Fusion is possible. Does the Controller grant Authorization? **_

Before I could speak, the face of the Control Device lit up and a large translucent red button appeared above it.

_**Verbal Consent and Pressing of the Activation Button are required to Authorize.**_

I nodded curtly. "Very well then. I, Louise Francoise le Blanc de La Valliere, grant Authorization for Final Fusion!"

My palm slapped down on the button hard causing a pair of tones to sound, and my Familiar to cry out in glee.

"It's Party Time, boys and girls!"

* * *

"**FINAL FUSION!"**

As the process began, StealthGao, DrillGao and the DroneGaos began to ascend. The dude from another dimension jumped from his ride and held himself up on Galeon's jets as the GaoMachines began their assembly run.

DrillGao arrived first, its drill bits moving up and away allowing Ryu's legs to slide into position up to the knee, then locking in place. At the same time the black armor skirt slid around the torso to the front and secured itself.

The Drones came next as their guns collapsed into their housings, sealed behind the snub noses of each unit, then both clapped down onto the Pilot's shoulders locking into position.

As StealthGao began it's approach, a Broken Phantom, decided to remind everyone that _yes indeed, their opponent was still present_ by grazing the armor on the Texan's side.

'_Did he miss on purpose?' _Ryu wondered, before looking in his enemy's direction and smirking at what he saw. _Ice!_ Ice had coated GaoFighGar's legs and was creeping upward, throwing off its aim and distracting it further. Off to the side, a small, thin female student with a glowing staff much larger than her was chanting, holding the ice in place.

"Let's finish this." As Ryu spoke, the faux B-2 bomber had just finished locking into position on his back while the two sections of the mecha lion's mane fitted into place.

The G-cyborg pointed his arms downward, palms flat just as the gauntlets from StealthGao lifted up and fitted onto his arms. Panels retracted before large metal fists spun out and clicked into position.

Finally the Helmet, detached from its compartment in the bomber and lined up with the Pilot's head, slammed into position over the first helmet from the ID Armor, its silver horns already pulled back inside their housings. The faceplate fitted over Ryu's nose and mouth, a tinted visor slid down over his eyes, and the G-stone in the helmet slid out into its setting before flashing brightly.

The mechanized warrior landed heavily on his armored feet before his enemy, as he roared the announcement of his arrival.

"_**GAO... GAI... GAAAAR!"**_

Trying to take an early initiative, the fully formed Prince of Braves dashed up close to his now immobilized opponent before taking aim with his right arm.

_**"Looks like this game just went into overtime! Broken Magnum!"**_ The spinning fist rocketed forward like a cannon blast, shattering GaoFighGar's icy restraints and flinging it a good 30 feet away. However, though its pain and anger were easily heard, the one fired upon wasn't the only one screaming.

"_**Son-of-a-monkey-hell with a side of hot sauce DAMN that hurts!**_" The swearing continued further when the gauntlet reattached, making the dude from another dimension realize something extremely important.

_'Note to Self: Never do that to a mecha bigger than yourself. Hope everything still works...'_

As the iron adversary began to stand up, a sudden roaring cheer rose up around the two armored combatants, causing Ryu to turn and finally notice the crowd that had somehow sprung into being around them. Students, teachers and servants alike had piled out of the varied buildings of the Academy apparently drawn in by the heavy-duty landscaping.

'_How come they chose now to see what's going on?' _ The G-cyborg's train of thought was derailed by his enemy's next action.

"_**Holy Gazongas, what a rack!**_" Everyone else face-faulted hard at the sudden drama kill before the fighting fiend dashed towards the new object of its interests: Kirche.

Unable to process what was going on, she could only stand stock still as the lustful mechanoid approached, before she was scooped up in Ryu's arms and carried out of harm's way. Unable to reverse its momentum, GaoFighGar collided with the wall seconds later. "_**OW! Get your own source of hot pussy, ya cockblocking punk!**_"

The dude from another dimension quickly dropped off his charming charge next to Louise before turning back to the fray, locking hands with the iron adversary and committing to a test of strength against it. As the both of them heaved and strained against each other, the Germanian's mind played back what had just happened. _'He saved me. No hesitation or fear, he just... he...'_

A small sigh escaped her lips. "You really did summon the best familiar, Valliere..."

The mage-in-training almost got whiplash turning towards the young Zerbst. "W-w-w-w-wha-?! What are you talking about? He's crazy, rude, vulgar, stubborn-"

The feverish mage finished Louise's budding rant for her. "-Passionate, brave, strong, kind, and so very cute when he makes that smile that reminds you of a small child. I'm actually jealous."

That made the youngest Valliere take pause before looking back toward the battle, a slight flush starting to pink her cheeks. "M-maybe... But why bring this up now?"

"Just making you aware that you better scoop him up quick before someone else does, like me."

The Void mage-to-be simply blanched. "You honestly expect him to forget that you tried grilling him like a fish?!"

The fire mage blushed hard, she HAD forgot about that. "A-a girl is allowed a few mistakes in her life, yes?"

As that continued, so did the battle between the two titans, though they had begun something of a discussion themselves.

"_**Gh... rrrh... Why are you fighting so damn hard for these fools? You could've easily dominated this entire area in a single night, mages or no!**_" GaoFighGar suddenly pulled his arms back, forcing Ryu to stumble forward and into a textbook judo throw that landed him on his back.

The dude from another dimension engaged his Protect Shade to block the follow-up blow - or would have if a sudden jolt of pain from his shoulder hadn't suddenly put the kibosh on his defenses. One, two, three punches hammered his head and body before the metal monster grabbed an arm, spun like a top, and flung the Texan for the cheap seats.

Ryu landed hard on the ground in a bounce before somehow managing to right himself with the boosters in his wings, allowing him to gain his legs again. "_**I fight for them right now because no one else can. That's just my style.**_"

A Broken Phantom to the head kept him from speaking further as the blow made stars dance in his vision. He could see his opponent closing the distance between them, managing to dodge a Drill Knee aimed for his face, but not GaoFighGar then using its boosters to twist its body and legs around in a fierce spin kick that launched the G-cyborg into the crowd of spectators. Thankfully those in his flight path got out of the way, but that left Ryu to be stopped by colliding with the wall and sliding down to the grass in a painful heap.

The fighting fiend walked back to the Prince of Braves' fallen form, catching a weak punch from him before driving its right arm into his torso, stunning the pilot. "_**'Fighting for them'**_... _**Gah. How can you be such a sap without going into diabetic shock or something?!**_"

Keeping the Texan's prone form balanced on the right fist, GaoFighGar lifted him overhead and chuckling darkly. "_**By the way, if you're gonna point-blank someone, you might wanna do it like THIS!**_"

The gauntlet's rockets roared to life and shot up into the air with GaoGaiGar along for the ride. Several dozen feet up the projectile jerked out from under its intended target, circled around in a tight arc, and collided from behind to the tune of the Pilot's anguished cry. Two more passes, one to the chest and then to Ryu's damaged shoulder, driving him to the ground again.

The Texan could barely hear the fighting fiend laughing proudly over the sound of straining joints and servos filling his ears. Slowly, he pulled himself back into a standing position again. Fatigue and pain demanded that the fight end soon, causing the neophyte pilot to charge headlong at his enemy.

As they met again, a punch was thrown by each combatant, and two fists collided with one another. "_**I'd rather be a sap then someone who'd get his kicks hurting other people!**_"

Punches were thrown and deflected on blocking arms, kicks and knee attacks dodged and ducked under. "_**Well then, you'd better win. 'Cause if you don't, I'm gonna scour this place for every cutie I can find before wiping it off the map! Hell, I might even take that brat of a kid you hang around with too; maybe use her to clean my keep...**_"

The girl in question shrieked at what was said, but the G-cyborg didn't notice. Hearing what GaoFighGar would do if it won started Ryu's blood to boil again.

"_**I'm not gonna let you win!**_" A desperate lunge for the enemy was tripped and ended with the G-cyborg's arms held tight behind him, his opponent's leg forcing his body forward. Sadly, seconds in this position easily managed to strain a certain joint past the breaking point.

A sudden lurching pop-crackle somehow overrode every sound on the battlefield before the pilot it came from screamed in absolute agony.

GaoFighGar just chuckled like he was watching a comedy show. "_**Whoops! So much for that shoulder.**_" The chuckle became a full blown laugh as the Texan's body slumped as the screaming subsided. "_**Had enough then, newb? Calling it quits, perhaps?**_"

Not that he would admit it, but the pain coming from a damaged and inoperative limb was about to take the choice away from Ryu, along with his consciousness. '_Gah. Can't think past my damn shoulder now. Wish my armor protected me from personal stupidity.'_

Just then, a thought made him pause and rewind what was said just then. '_Shoulder armor? BitGao...ByteGao! I could...! But if I miss... It'd be all up to chance, and this guy'll kill me before I could get a second attempt. ...should I even try?' _

As his helm tilted up, the dude from another dimension caught sight of Louise, Kirche and some of the other students behind them.

The youngest Valliere was crying now, her shouts in time with her Germanian rival, both of them screaming for their champion to rise, to fight back... '_They're counting on me...'_

Once again a feeling surged within the G-cyborg, a relentless wave that he could not help but be swept up in as the G-stone in his helmet began to shine. "_**...yes. Yes I've had enough.**_"

The combined gasp rang out from the crowd as the manic mechanoid howled in his coming victory. "_**WOOHAHAHA! Then let's hear it. Right now, out loud for everyone to hear - those little words that'll end this fight.**_"

Ryu's back suddenly straightened out as the nose of the left shoulder parted revealing ByteGao's energy cannon, which then swiveled back to face GaoFighGar right in its faceplate!

"_**CHEW ON THIS!**_" The blast shot true, striking the iron adversary in the eyes and blinding the pilot causing it to release GaoGaiGar.

The fighting fiend screamed and thrashed about for a moment or two before the optics finally came back online, showing its opponent facing it once more while taking hold of the damaged limb. "_**YOU BASTARD! YOU SAID YOU GAVE UP!**_"

The rest of the Prince of Braves was unflinching as he pushed hard on his weakened arm, actually managing to jam it back into connection with the rest of his body. Pain subsided as functionality returned, allowing the Texan to raise his right arm towards his foe.

"_**No. I said I've had enough - enough of you, enough of this fight, enough of your bullshit taunts about what you'll put these kids through! You wanna see destruction on a grand scale?!**_" Holding his right arm in his left hand, the Prince of Braves' right hand began to glow as bright as a fully powered G-stone. "_**Then watch now, as my hand glows with a brilliant light, and its emerald shine demands to grasp victory!**_"

'_No way! His suit can do that technique?!_' The system in the iron adversary's armor began blaring out warnings to its HUD. '_The system's going crazy... reacting to the output!_' The metal monster tensed in place, waiting for the attack to come. "_**Bring it on then... SHOW ME WHAT YOU'VE GOT!**_"

Ryu couldn't guess why his enemy wasn't trying to move, but he was glad for the opportunity he now had. "_**Take this - my passion, my rage, and all of my COURAGE!**_" The boosters in the wings roared to life, rocketing him forward with his hand outstretched!

"_**SHINING FINGER!**_"

The searing hand was only a few feet from its target when GaoFighGar flew straight up, and out, of the attack's path. "_**Hyahahaha! I have you now!**_" It turned to face the Texan still locked on his present course and took aim with the right arm.

But whatever the iron adversary planned to do was never seen as a sudden clang of something against the back of its helmet pulled its attention away, turning to a certain pink haired mage-in-training, who now had a smirk on her own face and another decent sized rock floating next to her for a second volley. "_That_, you low-born cur, was for calling me a _brat!_"

The fighting fiend began a retort in kind before Ryu's wordless howl drowned everything out. The helmet turned back around, just in time for a glowing green hand to plant itself right between the eyes.

"_**GE-E-EH-EH-AH-AAA-AAAHHH!**_" A sudden explosion from the damaged helmet tore it from the grip of the Shining Finger, allowing GaoFighGar to plummet to the ground below.

"_**That's game. You lose.**_" The crowd exploded into cheers as the Prince of Braves hovered down to land in front of his downed enemy, now flat on its back. "_**And now, for the unmasking.**_"

Ryu reached down to pull the helmet away, but pulled away as it suddenly cracked down the center. In the blink of an eye, the crack had spiderwebbed around the headgear until it dissolved into glittering particles, leaving the face of the enemy exposed.

It was a face he was familiar with - one he was used to seeing in the mirror. "_**Wha-wha-what the hell?!**_"

His own darkly smirking face stared back at him before uttering a simple phrase. "Marg, _Graviton Field._"

Suddenly, a wave of pressure slammed into all present, knocking them to the ground and holding them there as a shimmering silver form appeared from out of thin air. The shimmering faded to reveal a hulking humanoid made of jet-black metal holding out its hands, dark purple energy dancing across them. "_**Heh. They really did a number on you, eh Boss?**_"

* * *

The whole time... the _whole_ time! That cheating jackass doppelganger had that ace up his sleeve the WHOLE TIME!?

The fact he had on the Smirk of Supreme Satisfaction answered my question for me. "Oh come on, you actually thought I'd head ass-deep into enemy territory without any sort of backup? I guess you didn't strain your brain much in school."

The other me slowly lifted himself up onto his armored legs before shaking his head clear. "Since I never introduced myself before, I'll do so now."

Standing to full height once again, the second dude form another dimension bared his teeth in a wide grin while throwing out his arms in a grand gesture. "The name's Greywords. Revan Greywords."

I'd rather not talk about what happened right then, but to sum it up nicely: Painful. With no one able to stop him, the ganking punk started taking cheap shots at me. Arms, legs, torso; everything felt like one big bruise by the time he finally got tired.

"Geh.. heh... bah! It's not any fun when you lay there like a bump on a log. Need something else..." My blood went cold as his grin turned nasty. "Or someONE else... heheheheh."

He made his way over to where Kirche and Louise were both pressed down to the earth, before flipping the both of them onto their backs to check out their fronts. "Eww. Flatter than freshly paved asphalt. Should've done the smart thing and kicked the little spore into orbit."

Even from a distance I could hear Louise building up the rant that little comment would make, only to hear it snuffed out by a loud dull thump and a scream from Kirche. '_Oh god no...'_

Moments later Nega-Me came back into view with the Germanian dish slung across his neck and shoulders with her wrists locked in his left hand. It didn't take enhanced optic arrays to see how scared she was right now.

"_**What did you do? WHAT DID YOU DO TO HER REVAN?!**_" Servos strained as I tried pulling myself out of the field's energy.

"She's alright Darling! The Z-" Her expression darkened slightly before she spoke up again. "L-Louise is alright."

The me who wasn't me then looked back and forth between the two of us for a split second. "...'_Darling_?' Jesus man, you score a full 10 and you don't have the decency to share?"

"_**Some things are too precious to share.**_" I suddenly blinked as what I just said registered with me. _Ohhh crap... that's gonna give a few people the wrong idea._

"WE-he-he-hell, I'm really interested in your little fire-bomb here now. And once my helmet finishes regenerating, we'll get right to the whole inheritance issue."

I would've asked, but Kirche beat me to it. "_Inheritance_?"

"Yes indeed, o Woman of Mass Distraction. As you might have guessed, I'm not here simply for the prospect of a good brawl. And while Marg can keep up the field for hours, I need to make this short and sweet and finish off your little boy-toy. _And_ as my ersatz twin's 'better half', I naturally inherit you from him! See how that works?" Revan erupted into a cackle as she began thrashing about as best as she could from her current position.

I finally managed to get myself into a sitting position. "_**And the regenerating helmet trick?**_"

"Isn't it obvious?" At the base of his neck came a shifting bit of material slowly winding its way up his face. "This armor is a prototype combining knowledge taken from BioNet's capture of a GGG mecha-" He paused as the new helmet faceplate fitted into position. "_**-and the understood remnants of Zonder technology.**_"

I was shocked silent. G-tech AND Zonder tech in the same mecha?!

With my head momentarily occupied trying to figure out how the hell this could happen, I almost missed it when Revan held out his right arm and the hand spun in place before turning into a rather wicked looking blade. "_**Ahh good, the Molecular Reconstruction Circuit still works.**_"

You could almost hear the record skipping noise in my head as that registered. "_**Dimension X called, they want their gimmick back.**_"

Suddenly the blade began humming slightly as he raised the transformed arm high, ready to land the final blow. "_**Enough chatter, Nice Guy.**_ _**As Lewis Caroll once said: **_**'One-two, one-two, and through and through, the vorpal blade went snicker-snack! He left it dead, and with it's head, he went galoomphing back!'**_** HAHAHAHAHAHA!"**_

The edged weapon swiftly flew down towards me, only to be pulled off course to slice my armored cheek as a soulful scream heralded a sudden explosion of magical power. Neither of us seemed to digest what just happened seconds earlier as we focused eyes on the one screaming.

It... was Louise. Seconds after that registered, something collided with Black Marg, throwing him to one of the far walls as the Graviton Field lost power.

A corona of darkly shining energies surrounded her body. When her eyes opened, it was like looking into glowing orbs of white light. "**You hurt him. My familiar, my guardian... MY FRIEND.**"

She raised one hand towards Revan with fingers pointed up and thumb tucked in. "**You will not survive.**"

She began to chant as a shimmering black ball of energy began forming in her hand. With everyone else dumbstruck, I could think of only one thing to say. "_**Why do I get the feeling the power level of this show just shot up?**_"

* * *

For one brief moment, the whole tableau of enemies, allies, and spectators reached a complete balance. Then Louise spoke up again.

"**Crusher Spark.**" The darkly glowing sphere raced towards the mechanoid, forcing him to abandon his ill-gotten Germanian to the whims of fate by tossing her away before the detonating spell flung him into the air.

At that point the battle began in earnest as Super Louise started firing more Crusher Sparks in rapid succession, hoping to bury the fighting fiend in magical ordinance.

"_**You call THIS a battle?! This much firepower, the little bitch is more needed in a war-AGGGGHHH!**_" A sphere of blackened light crashed into Revan's once shiny helmet flinging him away.

They always think they can break that 4th wall without consequence, don't they?

Soon the majority of the crowd had scattered for cover as dodged shots began flying wild all over the place. Those that hadn't either had already been hit and were unconscious or were getting into the festivities in their own way. Kirche had 'borrowed' a wand from another student and proceeded to bring her own fireworks, which in turn prompted others to fling magic of their own at their armored assailant.

But what could've turned into an excellent dogpile was quickly dispelled as the manic mechanoid and his partner took to the skies and disappeared. There was a breath, then a collective sigh.

"**Now, what was that about 'things too precious to share?'**"

Ryu blinked, then pulled his helmet off fast enough to nearly give himself whiplash. "We just risked our lives, saved everyone here, and fought off a Wacko of Mass Destruction, and the only thing you can focus on is _that small part of the dialogue_?!"

The crowd began tensing again as the young Valliere raised a hand towards her familiar. "**Zerbst is an enemy. She wants you for herself. Y-you... you are... **y-you-"

As she spoke the glow around her suddenly started fading as she swayed off balance. "...you're my familiar. Not that maid's. Not... not Kirche's. Supposed to be..."

With a thump, the mage-in-training simply collapsed.

* * *

Once everything had finally quieted down, all the students and faculty that were uninjured tried to turn in for the evening and figure out what to feed the gossip mill the next day. But for Kirche, her thoughts and dreams were taking a much darker turn. To cold, hidden chambers. Cages without warmth or escape. And abuse and suffering at the hands of one that held the face of someone she had started to like more than most.

With a start the Germanian jerked awake in her bed, before once again cursing her father and brother for telling her of what could happen to noblewomen who couldn't protect themselves properly. At the time it had been the most effective way for them to get her interested in strategy and tactics, but now the memories were perfect nightmare fuel.

Looking about her room made her feel even more alone and uncomfortable than she could deal with, so the busty beauty wrapped her lingerie-clad form in a bedsheet and left the confines of her quarters. Moments later she reached the room of her closest friend, Tabitha. "I hope she isn't sleeping too deeply."

She rapped her knuckles lightly on the door, and waited for a few moments. Then she repeated the gesture with a bit more force. Finally, no longer caring if she woke up the whole floor, the redheaded mage gave the wooden barricade several loud hits.

_'Did she put Silence on the door again?'_ Kirche waited a few moments more before sighing and wrapping the sheet around herself tighter. "Now what?"

The busty beauty was about to just give up and head back to her room, when she happened to glance out the nearby hall window that gave a direct view of the central tower. Where the Infirmary was... and where _he_ currently was.

A tiny smile found its way onto her face. "Well, I suppose I _do_ owe him an apology for that earlier mishap."

Her resolve affirmed, Kirche hurried off towards the main tower, moments before a certain blue haired girl opened her door, looked around twice, then shut it again.

Moments later, she made her way into the medical wing of the tower, moving towards the one dimly lit partition in the whole room. The redhead pulled back the closed curtain to see her target watching over the Z-, er, _Louise_. "May I come in?"

The Texan's head turned to face her slowly, before speaking in a whisper. "Hey Kirche... come in if you want, but keep it at low volume okay?"

The busty beauty giggled, before whispering herself. "Alright then. How is Louise doing?"

"She's sawing logs like a mill. I guess going Super Saiyan'll really take it outta ya..." The Texan chuckled as Kirche tried puzzling out that term. "I mean her transformation. Not that I'm complaining, I just never believed that was even possible."

"I know, it's amazing. I thought only elves could cast magic without a wand, but she was using that amazing spell of hers with abandon, wasn't she?"

The dude from another dimension gave off a little shudder remembering that level of power. "Yea. _Crusher Spark_. Pretty good name." A moment later, Ryu continued speaking. "So what's the bed sheet for? The night too chilly for you?"

The Germanian blinked before giving a rather saucy smirk as she slowly, sexily, _tantalizingly_ revealed her lingerie clad form from underneath the bed cloth. She giggled to herself as her target lost hold of his senses, his eyes widening to the size of saucers. _'I should feel bad at how simple it is to befuddle men.'_

As she stood there enjoying the feel of the G-cyborg's eyes on her, the flame haired mage's thoughts suddenly stopped as a slight mumble escaped his lips and reached her ears. "...Ooooro-ro-ro..."

A squeak suddenly came from the young woman, then another. Finally at the third one, her composure cracked and she started giggling merrily. This also had the added effect of breaking the spell on Ryu's brain, allowing him to come back to lucidity.

The dude from another dimension quickly tried to calm Kirche down. "Ok, ok. I know the 'oro' is a hit, but Louise is sleeping right now."

The busty beauty clutched her sides as another fit of giggles fell upon her. _'Note to self: Ruruoni Kenshin reference is good icebreaker.'_

As her laughter was starting to get louder Ryu finally stood and closed the distance, clamping a hand over Kirche's mouth to get her to stop. "Kirche, I'm glad I could make you laugh but if Louise wakes up now she's gonna see you and I'll never feel the end of it, so to speak."

There was a mirthful look in her light brown eyes as the Germanian nodded in understanding. Once the G-cyborg's hand was removed, she continued in a whisper. "So you can fight off armored madmen, but run in fear of a slip of a girl?"

The Texan smirked. "Little girl she may be, but she's got a mean elbow thrust."

Kirche grinned at the reply, before gaining a serious look to her face. "While we're on the note of our uninvited guest tonight, I feel I should thank you for your timely rescue of me... as well as apologize for my reaction to your age, it was uncalled for for a noblewoman of my standing to react in such a manner to something so silly."

Ryu blinked twice, before letting a smile cross his face. "That's ok. I'm used to people being shocked at how old I actually am."

The busty beauty's mood became slightly better as she continued speaking. "Then may I ask something of you tonight? With everything that happened and almost happened earlier, I've been left feeling somewhat... vulnerable. Might I rest with you so that I can finally sleep? Tabitha's sealed her room again and my other 'friends' might get the wrong impression as to what I wanted of them."

The Texan blanched slightly at those words. On the one hand, he didn't think obliging her would keep him in his little mistress' good graces, and she would obviously take it as a sign of something else. Add to that his total confusion of women in general, something he never could get much of a handle on before or after the invasion, and you had the Brain advocating a solid NO. But on the other hand, the G-cyborg was the consummate nice guy who felt bad about denying someone anything if it was clear that he could be of help. Bolstering that was his protective instinct for people he knew in a friendly light and the guilty thought of having a _very_ lovely lady snuggled up next to him in repose.

No choice at all, really.

"Well...alright. But I'm only doing this 'cause you need a teddy bear tonight. And you're helping keep Louise off my back if she finds us in the morning." With that, Ryu stood up and moved out into the hall with his pretty guest right behind. Thankfully, the bed next door was vacant allowing the human familiar to still be close to his partner and still perform the duty he had agreed to tonight. Kirche followed behind, the bed sheet she had covered herself with bundled up in her arms.

But as the whole of what was to come registered in his mind, Ryu started feeling nervous. "S-so. I guess I'll just take one side and you take the other, sounds fair."

With that he plopped down on the far side of the bed and shut his eyes, only to have them fly open once again as he felt the flame-haired mage begin to settle at his right side. Ryu jerked his body further to the left only to succeed in rolling clean off the bed and collapse on the floor. The busty beauty peered over the side asking if he was okay, to which the Texan gave a incoherent reply. "Why did you suddenly jump out of bed like I had stabbed you?"

"Well, you see... it's like this..." Was all the G-cyborg managed to say before an embarrassed flush came over his face.

Then she realized it, the Texan had the same look she had seen on a few of her lovers before she found out how inexperienced they were with a woman's body. Grinning slightly, she spoke. "You've never had a lover, have you Sir Ryu?"

All the dude from another dimension could do was nod slowly, and the Germanian let off a joyous squee in her mind._ 'Oh Thank you, Founder! Such a powerful warrior, and I get to break him in! No no...calm down, Kirche. If you jump him now, he'll never trust you again. A wild stallion like this needs to get used to you before you take him out of the stable. Slow and gentle, just like before. Ohhh, this will be so much fun!'_

Plans confirmed, Kirche gave off a gentle smile before reaching down with her left hand to take hold of Ryu's right one. "There's nothing to be ashamed of. We aren't making love, just holding each other so we can relax, right?"

Still somewhat flustered, the Texan allowed himself to be guided back to the bed and laid down on his back before the flame-haired mage slowly tucked herself in on his right side. "See? Nothing bad is happening. No need to be nervous at all."

Indeed, the dude from another dimension felt his nerves start to settle. "You seem oddly experienced with talking guys down from a panic attack."

She giggled. "Well, it wouldn't do to have a jumpy... what did you call it? Teddy Bear?"

"A sort of stuffed toy animal back where I'm from. Usually, it's the first thing kids think of when they want something to cuddle at night." The G-cyborg let out a sigh as some thoughts of his old home came back to him. "Hope everything's alright."

The two of them pulled Kirche's bed cloth over themselves, and soon after, fell asleep.

* * *

Sunshine and birdsong were the Valliere girl's waking alarm come the morning. But instead of the familiar comfort of her bed and room, the simple linen and curtains of the infirmary were what met her eyes.

"This isn't my room..." Her eyes drooped shut again as she rolled over to go back to sleep. "If this is that goofy familiar's idea of a joke I'll..." Suddenly the mage-in-training bolted up to alertness as the memories flooded back to her. "RYU! Ryu, where- ah- AH!"

Alas, trying to quickly get out of a bed without pulling the sheets away often leads to a rather messy tangle on the floor. The Valliere girl's ruckus drew the attention of the one in charge of the medical wing, Lady Fara el Brim la Gardenia, Siesta's mother. The raven-haired healer quickly pulled the sheets away, her emerald eyes quickly checking her patient for any new injury. "Miss Valliere! Are you alright?"

With a sudden burst of activity Louise charged out of the partition looking around desperately for the G-cyborg. Then as if to answer her rush of energy a deep snore echoed from a behind a nearby drape. She pulled it back with a flourish, only to stop and start scowling at what she saw.

"Why does that top-heavy breast monster always think that... that... grrrr!"

Ryu was there, of course; he was the one sawing logs with wild abandon. But Kirche was also in repose, her body entwined alongside his own peacefully while partly covered by a sheet and wearing that negligee of hers that left little to the imagination. Seconds after she started fuming and glaring at the Germanian on her familiar's arm, the voice of her healer hostess wafted by. "Normally, I wouldn't condone someone who isn't ill resting in my infirmary, but it's hard to even consider disrupting such a cute scene."

As the pinkette turned to ask the coming question, a sudden popping sizzle cracked across the room, accompanied by an anguished scream. Louise turned back in time to see Lady Gardenia rush to the now-awake Texan's side as she and Kirche tried to make sense of why the human familiar was clutching his shoulder. His _right_ shoulder. The very one, if the mage-in-training recalled, hurt by that manic monstrosity when he attacked the school.

And he actually thought telling us he was fine _would work_?! "Ryu, stop fidgeting right now and let the healer do her work!"

Soon Tristainian and Germanian worked together for a common goal, holding the G-cyborg still while the water mage applied her craft to its calling. Or they would have, had he not shown the slight flaw in this idea by lifting himself up to standing and twisting their holds into both of them resting along his shoulders. "Louise, I can understand Kirche and the Doc not knowing I have enhanced abilities, but really, you should've known better."

The healer-on-call proved hard to convince. "Mr. Gabriev, after that display of raw agony just now, I doubt even the most callous person would believe that was an isolated incident. Something is dangerously wrong with your shoulder, and I am not going to let you leave this Infirmary until I know what it is and have exhausted all options for its recovery."

Ryu rolled his eyes skyward before leaning back and letting the girls drop back onto the bed. "Ma'am...you are _not_ the right specialist for this kind of operation. When my shoulder popped out of it's socket, several key distribution nodes were damaged. These nodes are how power moves from the G-stone in my chest to the rest of my body, and while my little cyber-triage managed to keep power flowing, there are still shorts in there."

The confusion was easy to see now on the woman's face. "Er, ah - yes, well, y-you still need some rest, sir."

The young Valliere was proving more resilient to psycho-babble than Lady Gardenia. "And how exactly do _you_ know all this? I doubt even you can see inside your own body."

The Texan grinned and held out his arm, upon which C.D. rested comfortably. _**Greetings Controller Louise. It is good to see you in a state of health again. Part of my functions to the Pilot include interfacing with the internal bionics for purposes of diagnostics.**_

The mage-in-training blinked once. "Oh."

As she started to turn away, something finally caught her notice spinning her back around. "R-Ryu! Why do you have that on your face?!"

The dude from another dimension absently raised a hand to the thing in question, a thin scar running a diagonal path on his left cheek. He gave it a light rub before shrugging. "Guess Revan got lucky with that little blade trick of his. Kinda weird that the doc couldn't heal it, but it doesn't bother me really."

Suddenly, Kirche draped herself over the G-cyborg, hugging his back to her front. "I didn't notice it last night, but _I_ think it is rather dashing. Many back home in Germania think that only the greatest battles in a person's life leave lasting marks like that."

"Heh, I dunno about great... But it was my first time..."

The fire mage's eyes grew slitted at that innuendo as she tightened her hug. "May I reward my hero with another... _first time_? Perhaps tonight?"

Suddenly Ryu sighed before gently prying the Germanian off of his person. "Sorry, babe, not in the mood... I forgive you for it, but that whole 'trying to flame broil me' issue is still something of a buzz kill."

And right before the stunned girl's eyes, the man she had set her sights on actually got up and left with the now smirking Valliere in tow. '_He... he rejected... me? ME?'_

* * *

Louise and I were called up to see Ol' Osman later on, but instead of his office we found ourselves inside the main vault of the Academy.

At least, I _think_ it was the main vault. The room looked less like a treasury and more like a pile of various junk. And when a resounding clank from above gave me cause to look up, I realized why.

Rather hard to keep things neat and tidy when a light green oval in the air keeps dropping new stuff into the mix. A summoning circle in the ceiling. I know, sounds crazier than this trip's been up til now, what with maniac doppelgangers, high-tech genre-bashing armor, and Primus knows what else...

...And I just said the wrong deity's name in vain. Yep, it's official - I'm losing it.

"I wonder where He who Makes Wind's at," I asked, trying to take my mind off of my apparent fall into character. "You'd think the guy who'd called us all the way up would..." I trailed off as a guard walked up, handed Louise a note then scurried to the vault door, closing it behind him. Though I was unable to translate what was written, the way the pinkette's expression turned sour told me it wasn't good news.

"I'm guessing it's not an invite to the Dining Hall for ribs."

Louise nodded and began to recite.

"_To Miss Valliere and her Familiar,_

_Firstly, congratulations on defeating such a dangerous threat to this school and her students. As you read this, I am on the way to Tristain Castle, to explain the requisition of materials and labor for repairs to the school."_

I blanched and thought back to the fight. "Y'know, maybe I could've held back a bit and still won."

The pinkette's eyes widened suddenly. "G-g-given y-your opponent, I doubt such a thing was possible."

I blinked before giving a bright smile. "Aw, thanks, Louise! Means a lot for you to say that."

"T-t-that wasn't me!"

That was an 'oro's worth of confusion. "But you said the words in the proper order to form a sentence."

"No, I wasn't saying that...:"

I frowned. "Thanks Louise, means a lot to know you can yank my chain like that."

The mage-in training scowled before pointing at the note in her hand. "I haven't yanked anything! The letter is-"

"Very full of the old man trying to guess what questions we might ask and answering them beforehand while looking damn clever in the process. Still doesn't mean you can just-" Suddenly the Valliere girl thrust the parchment into my face and held it there.

This allowed me to notice words appearing in addition to what was already written.

I blinked, once, twice, finally stopping at three times. "Louise, I'll admit you've just taken my breath away with this trick, but it kinda loses some of the shock value when I realize I _still _can't understand a dang thing on the paper."

Glaring at me, Louise began reading again. "_Now I am rather glad I chose to try out this new item the Research Academy lent me. How else could I enjoy the banter of my school's most interesting Familiar?"_

I grinned at her. "Magic Instant Messenger: When you want to be heard at the speed of gossip."

She started gazing skyward, sighing in exasperation. "I could have had a frog, or a cat, anything at all. Instead, I end up with a mad fool."

"Hey, you'd be mad too if the Sweeney Todd Method was the only way you could get a decent shave around here." I cringed as I thought about the Mad Barber of Tristain. "I swear that guy was lining me up for the kill half the time!"

The mage-in-training smirked slightly. "Thankfully, as I am a Lady, shaving is no concern of mine and _Oh Founder your madness is infectious!_"

"Be glad the editor cut out what I was going to say before, Louise."

Soon after the comedy show, Ol' Osman got to the meat of the situation; simply, he wanted Louise and I to look through the Vault junkpile for anything of actual value and catalogue it. The way he figured it, since I and the pile both came from alternate worlds, the odds of me knowing what some of the more unusual things were was much greater. Personally, I think he was trying to get a hefty amount of busy-work out of me and Louise.

The actual task: Get really good at discerning items of worth from useless junk.

The reason: We're going reagent huntin'.

Osman used up the majority of this stuff called Prism Dust, a fine powder made from the scrapings of a huge diamond formation a few miles from the Academy, during the attack. So, after this impromptu training course, the both of us were to go there to replenish his supply.

First chance I got, though, I was going to scan the residue in the pouch and program C.D. to look for the prize instead of me having to rely on my own sight and instincts. Don't get me wrong, I was still gonna dig through the pile for a few hours. I think I might've seen a laptop in there somewhere.

Suddenly, Louise started tugging on my ear, pulling me away from the treasure pile. "Ow ow OW! Leggo my ear-o!"

"You can play in the treasure room later. We need to get to my afternoon class!" Louise kept a firm grip on my earlobe 'til the both of us had left the vault, after which I managed to pry my ear free.

"Free stuff aside, aren't we just inviting thieves to come ransack the place? Four walls and a door do not a vault make, so to speak."

My 'mistress' scoffed. "Obviously not. One of the professors is always on hand at night to guard the door, and the door and walls have been fortified with many powerful spells."

My turn to scoff. "And _naturally_ every last one of the teachers _never_ shirks in their duty on their watch night." Louise loudly countered, and soon we were both noisily bickering as we headed for the classroom.

I would come to regret saying that later on, but at the time I was unaware of who was eavesdropping on our conversation. But what was to come would, in the end, teach me the best lesson of surviving in an alien world.

'_**Expect the unexpected.'**_

* * *

In the dark recesses of space, there is a planet made entirely of metal. Once, beings as complex and as amazing as their name described were capable of creating great wonders upon its surface, and also great horrors that soon tore the planet's history and surface apart.

They were known as Transformers, and their world, Cybertron.

Deep below the streets of the old cities, and deeper still beyond the miles and miles of components and energy channels that could be seen as its mantle and crust, there is the core of the planet. Within this centered section of the world lies its own Spark Chamber, where the soul of the very planet itself dwells in an unending sleep brought on by the energy costs of Cybertron's last Great War. But now, for the first time in millennia, life actually exists within the heart of this planet.

Upon a section of the massive iron sphere, a sigil of violet light began to etch itself upon the surface. Once finished, a hollow circle attached to a slanted line led to a small crescent moon, with a sickle on either side of the line.

A great hum began to reverberate throughout the chamber as energy started dancing along the marking's surface. Lines along the sphere began to glow for the first time in centuries, the channels filling with newfound energy. But almost as soon as the mark appeared it also began to twist and bend, shifting color from bright purple to an emerald green, finally settling on picture of a hexagonally cut gem with a large G in its center.

A photo-optic recorder upon the chamber wall adjusted its angle to focus upon the sigil decorating the core's surface. As it zoomed in, circuits began to awaken, and a thought moved across them.

_'I... do not... know...this symbol. But, I feel... as if this... is the key to my awakening.'_

* * *

I could _feel_ my armor breaking in places I didn't even know it had as I crested over the outer wall of my keep. Whatever that little Valliere brat had used against me, it was starting to cause major system glitches everywhere. Finally, I managed to touch down in the yard and willed the armor back into my inner suit. I _could_ go into detail of how it feels to have armor much wider and larger than you be sucked inside your body for the purposes of regeneration, but I won't.

Personally, I think I'd rather not have known, either.

Marg wandered off to do whatever he would do on his down time; meanwhile, I headed back to the throne room to get something to eat and a rest myself. As I pushed the doors open, I thought I would see my new chair and my pretty little toys waiting for me. I was mostly right.

That simpering sycophant of a spiritual man Cromwell was in _my_ chair fondling one of _**my**_ toys! The younger of the two girls was in his lap as he ran his hands over her body. The elder was trying to dance for him, but not really doing too well at it. My G-stone flashed in time with my anger as I roared out. "Out of my chair, Cromwell, before I make you the first holy man on the moon!"

The babes shrieked and ran off in different directions while Cromwell stared at me with contempt in his eyes. "I wasn't finished, Lord Revan. If this is how you treat all your guests, then I'm afraid I may have to inform King Joseph of your failure to eliminate your duplicate... although, if you were to loan me your slaves for the night, I just _might_ forget this transgression."

I said nothing, but instead strode up to the throne, grabbed him by the lapels of his robes and held him up high by them as I sat down. "I don't care how you found out about my loss, _I still want you out of my chair._" With that, I tossed him down and just watched with a smirk as he got himself back to a kneeling position. "On that note, I doubt he'd really care, considering I've won half the war for him already. Once we mop up the rest of the stragglers, I'll be able introduce Ol' Joey to my collection of royal skulls."

"No one is irreplaceable, boy. Remember that." He stood up with a snarl, brushed himself off and calmly walked out, slamming the doors behind him.

I snorted at that. "Yeah yeah, cry me a river you miserable old fart..." Now that I had a minute to appreciate it, I was really starting to enjoy the new seat I had made for my throne room. High in the back and slightly reclined, the whole thing was decked out in a rich velvet with hand rests wide enough that you could lounge on them comfortably. Definitely need to reward the guy who designed this, this chair is beyond awesome! "Now, where'd my seat warmers go? Oi! Babes! Get back here so I can see how many this seat can hold!"

Took a few minutes, but the two of them came out from wherever they were hiding, allowing me to get a good look at them. Now, instead of bloody and ripped dresses, the duet had on matching dancer costumes, slightly modified for my tastes. The top was traded in for a strip of white linen covering most of each breast, attached by strings that looped around the chest and tied in a bow at the back of the neck. From the looks of things, Cromwell had actually managed to figure out why they were made that way, what with the younger one swiftly getting her top back together and her tits back into it.

The bottoms were actually a little more covering than what was started with. Instead of simply a string looped around the waist with two strips of cloth hung along the front and back, a tie-on thong joined the ensemble, which I was proud to note seem to be causing both girls bit of distraction as it rode up their backsides. I'll admit, I want to see those parts bare as much as the next guy, but only when it's _me_ seeing them.

Top it all off with their old tiaras and new collars and Ba-Bam!, it's Revan's Dress Code for the Stylish Slave Girl! By this point you're probably asking, 'Revan, you debonair dick, how do you keep them in the room? Aren't you worried they'd run off the moment you turned your back?'

Not at all, faithful citizen, for those bits of nifty neckwear are specialized BioNet goodies: **Confinement Collars**. Get them far enough away from any preprogrammed area and they start to contract until the wearer faints from lack of air. Perfect for any size prison compound, or for naughty toys you want to discourage from getting an unhealthy case of wanderlust.

Soon enough, I had the daughter lounging along the back of the seat - didn't notice it till then, but the head cushion was actually a pillow resting on this mini shelf built into the chair! Righteous - and her mother was leaning back against me as I played "Guess the Sweet Spot" with her body. But even this couldn't distract me from the real problem: Crummywell was _not_ going to take that insult lying down. But would ol' King Joe still be a merry old soul if I just offed the idiot in cold blood?

I shrugged a second later. Like they say, 'Forgiveness is easier to get than permission.'

I started to focus on my squirming servant again, when another thought struck me. '_Why didn't Crum-dum use that damn ring on me?'_

* * *

Elsewhere, Cromwell was asking himself a similar question as his carriage rolled toward South Gotha. "It doesn't make any sense! I focused my will into the ring as Lord Joseph instructed, yet nothing happened to that strutting metal peacock!"

As the cardinal gazed upon the ring on his left hand again, the gem set within it flickered slightly.

He smirked. "No matter. With this I will be able to cow that fool into submission at a later date, perhaps force him to walk off the edge of Albion. Hmhm... Hmhmhm. Hahaha... HAHAHAHA!"

* * *

Hours later, Ryu was digging through the pile of interesting junk in the Vault, with C.D. on his wrist to scan and catalog what was discovered, when a random thought struck him. "Hey C.D., you have any idea why I appeared here? And why I keep thinking every so often that I feel that I'm living a dream?"

The device face flickered once before responding. _**I believe the answers are simple, Pilot. Firstly, you are here... because you are here. Secondly, you **_**are**_** living a dream, specifically a story idea that you had been working on for several months. This idea set was the most complete one in your active memory at the time of assimilation and thus used in your reconstruction. **_

"I'm...an idea?" The Texan stared at the wrist control in confusion. "That's impossible. I remember having a life before the invasion. I grew up, went to college, and would've gotten my Associates Degree if the damn bugs hadn't attacked! And what does this 'you're here because you're here' crap mean?!"

_**Just what it means, Pilot Gabriev. You, and multitudes like you, are at times randomly selected to expend massive amounts of charged emotional buildup from the multiverse as a whole. Where you go and what you do with the energies granted to you are entirely up to your discretion and the whim of chance. **_

Ryu blanched as the implications of that were slowly realized. "So you're saying, for all intents and purposes.."

_**You won the Nth-Dimensional Lottery. Congratulations.**_

"I DON'T WANNA HEAR THAT!"

The device flashed an image of a question mark before continuing. _**Should I have said you were a destined warrior of fate? Sent here to hone your abilities before facing great threats and evils to creation and all you hold dear?**_

"Well I already was dealing with that sort of thing before I got here." The G-cyborg started shaking his head to clear the clutter now within.

_**Sorry to burst your inflating ego, but it is clear that you have overemphasized your importance to Reality. You are here, with powers far beyond those of mortal men, simply because this is where you ended up. As to why, Knowledge is Power, as are Emotions and Ideas. Small amounts of each can change the fate of a single planet. Is it any wonder that large amounts could do more elsewhere? **_

The dude from another dimension huffed. "So I'm just reality's venting mechanism..." A slow smile started forming on his face. "Actually, that doesn't sound so bad."

_**That's the spirit! Now, I believe that the item you are searching for is 3 meters to your left. Also, there seems to be an odd little trinket that is emitting an unusual energy pattern. **_

Turning to his left the Texan began delving the junkpile again until he shouted in triumph. "Ah ha! There you are my little techno-beauty! Oh computer, how I have longed for thee an-..WHAT THE HELL?!"

Ryu popped out of the side of the pile holding two items. One was a laptop clutched within the crux of his arm. The other, a small drill bit glowing with a faint, pulsing light.

* * *

Chapter End.


	4. Chapter 4: The Sharpshooting Savior

Disclaimer: All persons, objects or series belong to their creators and this work in no way is meant to profit off of them. Just a simple author enjoying his hobby for others to read in a free world.  
~Speech~: Wi-fi transmission  
'_Speech'_ :Thoughts  
"_**Speech**_": Audio Speaker Output

* * *

Chapter 4: The Sharpshooting Savior

* * *

With nothing but an ES pocket to look at outside the windows, time had little relevance to many of the GGG at present. But while the repairs on the Brave Robo Corps and the ships were more than enough to keep boredom away, something strange was starting to happen all around the ship.

Somehow, the total amount of raw materials aboard the two vessels was _increasing_.

It was small at first, and easy to ignore. Several work crews had decided to go for their own ration of the supplies and had not thought to mention it to the crews who might have needed the same supplies for other projects. All of them took their share and only after several projects were completed ahead of schedule did someone realize that there shouldn't have been enough to go around.

It was merely assumed that there were actually many more parts to go around than was first estimated, and thus several projects were stepped up in priority, accounting for the increase in raw material. Not even 24 hours went by before they discovered that wasn't the case. The supply still wasn't decreasing; in fact, it was increasing _further. _Only when it seemed that the storerooms aboard ships would burst open from their overflowing supply did the inflow trickle to a stop. Even then, things still seemed to appear the moment the crew turned their backs. Food and water supplies that should have lasted a mere three days had stretched on for seven with no sign of stopping. The varieties available left something to be desired, but beyond that, the GGG wanted for nothing.

Was this because of some mysterious benefactor? Many thought so, but a certain Professor was still unconvinced. For one thing, many of the new materials were found to be unprocessed. This was fine for things like food; an unprocessed apple is, after all, still an apple. However, things like the complex circuit boards the Brave Robo Corps needed for repairs had to be fabricated and assembled before they could be used the way they needed to be. Even worse, the type and scope of facilities needed to fully assemble the parts needed weren't on either ship. For the time being, the robotic members of GGG were effectively stuck as brains in jars.

Thankfully they proved understanding of the situation after the Professor's explanation. With that - and thoughts of how to speed up repairs - swirling about in his mind, Liger Shishiou made his way to the Infirmary to check on his daughter and the others' recuperation. "And how are our latest patients doing?"

One of the nurses on call looked up from her clipboard with a smile. "It was a little touch and go with Commander Shishiou once we managed to get him out of his robot. Thankfully, Evoluders seem to be rather durable; he's well on the mend already. As for Renais and J..." As she trailed off her smile faded and her body language grew tense. "Well... that is..."

The aging inventor suddenly feared the worst and took off for his daughter's room like a shot. He burst through the door, dread filling him at the anticipation of the sight of his daughter on her deathbed, only to stop and stare at the sight before him.

Both the Soldato and the Chasseur agent were awake, and from the looks of things, he had interrupted them in the middle of a budding tender moment. A part of him couldn't help but notice someone had thought to give them a matching set of hospital pajamas, the scene being made even cuter by how red his daughter's face was turning at their discovery.

"H-Hey! What's your _problem, _old man?!"

The nurse reached the door herself at that point, bowing repeatedly in apology. "I'm so sorry! I didn't realize how bad I was making it sound 'til he ran in here!"

The Elder Shishio had calmed down by this point and was waving her off with a smile. "No worries. Parents just _live _to embarrass their children like this." The G-borg girl huffed indignantly as everyone else laughed uncomfortably at the small joke. "Anyway, I'm glad you two are doing so well, since you need to be brought up to speed over all that's happened in the last few days."

As the nurse walked off to do her rounds, shutting the door behind her, the warrior from the Red Planet spoke up. "How can we still be alive? The ES window should have collapsed by now."

"That, my boy, is a question I'd like answered myself."

* * *

Back at the Academy, classes for the day had just ended and all the young nobles dispersed to prepare for their evening activities. For a certain Gallian native, this meant a pleasant evening locked in with her favorite books. Tabitha had just cleared the center school building and was halfway towards her dorm tower when a boisterous cry cut through the air. "Hey, Tabitha! Hang on a sec there, Tabby!"

She looked up from her current chapter in time to see Valliere's human familiar jog up to her. "You'd think it'd be easier to find one girl in a school this size. I've been lookin' for you all day."

The bluenette merely gazed at him with her neutral expression. A small part of her was also hoping he'd get on with whatever he was going to say or do so she could get back to reading of Ivaldi's heroism for the thirty-fifth time. She had heard rumors that a new book was out in the series, and was eagerly awaiting her copy's delivery from the town bookstore. She thought two years was too long to wait for any new book to appear, and it was starting to show in her demeanor.

"...what?" Now she was actually _initiating_ conversation! Yet another invader into her private worldview, and she was actually having a conversation with it in the hopes that it might spur its thought process on a little faster so it could say its piece and _get out of her way_. She blinked at this private show of temper. Perhaps it was time to visit the bookstore personally to expedite matters.

Sadly this entire internal monologue was unheard by the human familiar as he trudged on in his conversation. "Well, since I never got a chance to that night, I wanted to say thanks for sticking your neck out for me."

The mage of wind and ice blinked twice then merely moved around him continuing onward towards her room. "Nothing."

The warrior from another land was not convinced. "What?! It most certainly is _not_ 'nothing'! If you hadn't gotten that frost to form and distracted Revan at that crucial moment I wouldn't have been able to transform. You helped saved everyone, not just me, and I think you need some recognition for it."

"Saved Kirche. Debt repaid." The Galian girl continued walking, mentally hoping that was the end of it.

"Awwww, that's no good! Chivalry like that needs to be rewarded and nurtured, or it might go out of style!" No such luck. Tabitha carefully saved her place in the chapter, then turned to the dude from another dimension. "Debt repaid."

With that she turned and continued on, leaving the Texan scratching his head in bewilderment. As she passed out of sight, a smirk slowly found its way onto his face. "Well then, little girl, you're about to discover I'm the type of guy who pays my debts back with _interest_."

* * *

The day after the dude from another dimension had his run-in with the bluenette, Ryu executed the first step in his grand master plan; **Operation: Good Turn**. To begin, he would have to gain information on the best places to find the target's favorite thing: books. But the one who would know all there was know about the best places to get said books was the target, and she would - in her own way - tell him not to bother. Which meant the G-cyborg had to try the next logical path, even if it was one he'd rather not take.

"Kirche... For the last time, this is not a date." Unfortunately, saying that while arm-in-arm with the Germanian beauty seemed to make it lose some of its impact.

"Relax, Darling. I'll show you where Tabitha buys her books. You just have to show me a wonderful time first." The redhead then tightened her grip on her date's arm before turning down a side street.

"At least Louise shouldn't be a problem here until it's all over. The last thing I need is her making a scene over a date that really isn't one." Ryu tugged his arm out of her grip, only for her to latch onto it again, making him sigh.

"How did you convince her to accept the truth of our love, Darling?" Kirche asked, causing the dude to recall just what had been done to 'convince' her. Who would believe that the portable computer he had found was a dead ringer of the one he had back home? At this point now she was being immersed in the music and videos stored on its hard drive.

A second later, he cringed inwardly as he realized what might be also on the drive, as well as the reaction from the pinkette should she discover it. "Let's hope that I never have to explain, babe."

As the two walked on, the angry eyes of some of Kirche's old boytoys followed after them. Peering from behind a nearby corner to avoid detection, the scene unfolding before them was not something they could stay quiet over.

"Such a person is unworthy of being in the same hemisphere as her, much less the same street!" came the heated whisper from a tanned young man with spiked red hair.

"He's arm-in-arm with her! How awful! How horrible! How enviable!" quipped another with slicked-back blonde hair and glasses.

"But what can we do about it? He can fight and defeat monsters that beat up the best instructors at the Academy!" spoke the third with long silvery hair that covered one eye.

The three fell into a huddle, quietly planning their mischief to come.

* * *

_Several cycles have passed since my reactivation, and with each new cycle, I feel more and more revived. Already I can feel the Sparks of my children returning to me, wondering no doubt as to why their dead home now breathes with new life. _A low, deep rumble reverberated through the Spark Chamber, almost like a titan's chuckle.

Seconds later and miles above on the surface, vid recorders and other long-dormant sensors awakened for the first time in centuries and began tracking two ships exiting hyperspace on opposing sides of the planet.

_I wonder if they will listen to me now?_

* * *

Minutes later, the boys split up to make their respective attempts. The plan as a whole was simple: humiliate the Zero's Familiar. But as many things in life tend to be, what is often _simple _is seldom _easy_. How do you manage to secretly humble such a powerful being? It was that question which Styx, the the red haired nobleman, kept asking himself as he eyed his opponent passing beneath his position up on a nearby roof. As the pair began to move around scaffolding for a brick wall being raised, inspiration struck the mage. "Shall we see how 'invincible' you are when you don't have that armor of yours?"

A practiced flick of the wrist caused one of the stray bricks near the working mason to rise and move into position over the G-cyborg's head. With a smirk he canceled the spell, allowing gravity to take hold, and causing the brick to fall upon his target's head with a solid crack!

Instantly the dude from another dimension flailed about in screaming pain as the nobleman looked on, a short fantasy of how Kirche would 'thank' him beginning to dance around his mind, when in one fell swoop everything changed! As the human familiar thrashed, one of his arms hit part of the scaffolding, breaking it cleanly in half. Without the support, the mason lost balance and fell right into the Texan's grasp. But the oddness didn't end there, as a large hairy spider partly crawled out of the opening in the unfinished wall, hissing loudly for many to hear.

The Germanian beauty gasped as the sound got her attention. "Th-that's a Giant Hissing Taraculse! They're extremely territorial, and can kill a full-grown man easily with a single bite!"

She then turned to where her date was still holding the now terrified worker, looking a bit dumbfounded himself. "Darling! You noticed what was about to happen and broke the scaffold so you could save this man, didn't you?!"

Looking at all that had occurred, Ryu could only shrug before allowing the man to stand up. "I guess it just hit me. How do you know about spiders like that, anyway?"

Kirche smiled as she took hold of the G-cyborg's arm. "My elder brother finds them and other such things fascinating. I suppose I picked up some of his hobby without really realizing it."

Soon the both of them were walking on, leaving Styx to fume silently. _What in the Founder's name just happened?!_

* * *

Back at the Academy, Louise was discovering the wonders of a docking station for a laptop's continued functionality, especially in the Pre-Renaissance Era. The 'station' in question was the Galeon unit that had taken to following Louise around after that impressive first battle. Many found the steel lion to be somewhat intimidating and obviously impressive, which in turn did much to improve Louise's opinion of her new robotic ally.

"Are you sure this won't hurt him?" At this point she was looking all around the notebook computer, hoping for something obvious that would connect the gold and grey mechanoid to the battery pack.

_**Quite sure, Controller. This device will only drain a minuscule amount of power from Galeon's system. But if it helps to assuage your concerns you may, of course, ask permission first. **_

The pinkette glared in the direction of the device on her wrist. "How exactly can I ask that of such a creature? You might as well ask a healthy man to put leeches on his back! It's not fair...I-it's not!"

She might've continued on had the mecha lion in question not walked up to her and sat down on his haunches. The two of them locked eyes, pink clashing with with an unwavering emerald green, for but a moment. Galeon then broke contact and before the young Valliere could realize it, had managed to gently push her to her table and chair and got her to sit down before laying down himself. Seconds later, two cords snaked out from the mechanoid's body and attached to separate ports on the portable computer.

_**It would seem he has taken the decision out of your hands, Controller. **_

Louise put the device on the table and glanced at her newest ally, before smiling slightly and reaching down to pet his metallic mane. "...thank you."

* * *

As the sun hit its zenith, a loud groan echoed through the town street.

"I tell ya, ever since I got here this guy just shoots his mouth off whenever he can," came the frustrated response from Ryu as he held a hand to his now grumbling stomach. "Wanna break for lunch, Kir?"

The Germanian beauty chuckled at her date's antics. "Of course, Darling. A meal does sound wonderful about now."

The pair veered off into a nearby cafe as another of the three date-crashers looked on in envy from across the street. "Gah. How can a man with such a vulgar sounding stomach entice _my_ dear Kirche so?!"

The young noble, Ajax, pushed up the glasses on his face before looking around for some sort of inspiration. As a noble lady with a rather generous waistline passed his vision, he had his answer. "I will show you true hell, Sir Gabriev..."

Minutes later, the tan haired youth had successfully bribed one of the waiters to take an early evening and took his place as well as his uniform. His idea was a simple one. A 'noble' warrior like Sir Gabriev would be proven a sham if he were to be found in another woman's arms. Though Ajax was sure that would happen, it needed to occur soon if he hoped to save his darling love from a disastrous mistake. Which is where his special potions came into play. When both were ingested by different people, the magic would cause those people to zero-in on each other without fail and fall madly in love as long as the potion lasted. Normally, the mage would've used half the reagents he had but he had to make sure the effects would take, even with someone as strong willed as the G-cyborg.

Almost as soon as the noble in disguise had slipped the potions into their special 'complimentary' drinks, a cry echoed from the other side of the dining area. "Hey man, can we get something to drink, or is it self-service around here?"

"Coming right up!" Ajax set to work, passing the drinks to random ladies in the restaurant before setting his sights on the real target. The mage moved towards the Texan from behind, hoping to slip the potion to him quickly and slip out without the Germanian beauty noticing. The tan haired youth quickened his step, eager to interrupt the excited conversation between them.

But at that point everything went wrong! Mere seconds before the noble arrived at Sir Gabriev's table, another patron stood up from their own, the chair leg tripping up the young mage and causing him to fall to the floor...on top of the drink tray.

Seconds later, Ajax sat up with the stains from the tainted drink suffusing his clothes and the lovestruck stares of the ladies of the cafe boring holes into him just before they all pounced on the helpless lad. With the potion mixed at double strength, simple contact with the skin was more than enough for a connection to be made.

All Kirche and her date could do was watch on as the mauling in the name of love continued on. "Poor bastard. That's the one reason why I'd rather not have a harem."

The Germanian turned to the G-cyborg. "I thought a collection of lovely, willing women was the dream of many men, Darling..."

Ryu smirked and pointed a thumb at the spectacle now heading outside as the noble mostly in disguise made a break for it. "And like this poor guy, you'd discover that such a group in reality would be more willing to fight over you than to meekly share. And in my honest opinion, meek women are boring."

The noblewoman's eyes fluttered. "And am _I_ meek to you, Darling?"

The Texan could only chuckle nervously.

* * *

Several kilometers above in Albion, things continued to get worse for the former royalty. A mere day after he had recovered, Revan began a frantic push toward the last known position of the son of the former king, Newcastle. The Bionet Agent's reputation had preceded him into the battlefield; none would challenge him openly, which was both amusing and frustrating to the cyborg with a need to hurt somebody.

"We know the little punk's in there! Just storm up to the gate and tear it down! Ol' Joey wants to see Wales' head on a pike, and I intend to deliver!" An armored hand slammed palm-down onto a map of the general area with an X over the icon for Newcastle. Around the table the map sat upon was the doppelganger himself, along with another man with long pale hair wearing a white face-mask.

"Just because Wales is there, does not mean that you can simply attack without mercy. Your armor hasn't fully repaired itself, and should you fall here, the effectiveness of 'The Demon of Albion' will be lessened greatly." Revan huffed and crossed his arms, but didn't dispute the point.

"Then what do we do, oh Vaunted General of the Reconquista? Sit on our hands for another week or so?" The masked officer moved as if to answer, had several loud bangs not interrupted him. "Gunshots?"

Before the General could do or say anything else, the armored cyborg dashed in the direction of the disturbance. Upon arriving, three more shots rang out and three more of his men fell with various injuries. "Very precise aim... _Ho-lee Handgrenades!_"

In the middle of the clearing was a woman wearing a zigzagged witches' hat, a dark grey zippered halter top and a matching twin-slitted grey and black skirt. Also around her waist was a loosely belted holster for the six-shooter in her hand. One of the remaining pikemen thrust his spear at her only to skewer the hat off, and earning a kick to the head for his trouble. Her short auburn hair and amber eyes caught Revan's sight, completing the picture for him. That is, as soon as he could pull his eyes away from the _massive_ bust her top was tightly wrapped around.

But sexy or not, _no one _hurt his men. "Stay back boys! I'll handle this one..." The Bionet Agent's smirk raised the spirits of those under his command, and put the young trespasser on guard. Though he only had his crimson "GaoFar" ID Armor at the moment, it's abilities were more than enough for this challenge. He didn't even need to go back for his helmet. "You ready to dance, babe?"

_Only if I'm allowed to lead, pig._ Revan's eyes widened as the girl then cracked off another triple set of shots that the G-cyborg quickly parried with his Twin Saber Claws, forcing them to ricochet to the ground harmlessly. _I am Setsuna Oomido of the Heavenly City, and I don't bow to anyone. Even one as fast as you!_

With that she leapt backwards while opening up the chamber of her revolver, discarding the spent shells. She then turned the leap into a flip as her opponent lunged at her, landed a fair distance away, and thrust her breasts upward, causing six fresh bullets to fly out from her cleavage and into the waiting chamber. Snapping the chamber closed with a flick of her wrist, the Senshi took aim at the Demon of Albion again, only to blink in confusion as he just stared at her with an awed expression. "The _**Mountains' Valley Supply Line **_Technique! A devastating mid battle maneuver that only super-endowed female gunners can use, distracting the opponent while at the same time rapidly reloading the weapon! Oh, that I would live long enough to see it!"

Setsuna's frown deepened. _Fool._ Another shot launched from the gun, and the cyborg's head snapped back. Yet to her growing amazement, he didn't collapse into a heap like he was supposed to.

"...Teach me to gawk before I've won the battle." Revan's body then vanished completely from sight after a red tinted light washed over him, seconds before the auburn-haired Senshi's weapon was torn from her hands by an invisible force. Something then impacted her sternum, throwing her clear of the battlefield and into a set of stacked crates full of various supplies. The girl groaned once then fell unconscious, just before the Bionet Agent reappeared with another flash of red light.

"There. _Now _I can start gawking." He pulled the embedded bullet free from the bleeding wound in the center of his forehead before turning to the now cheering crowd of soldiers and mercenaries. "Get a healer over here! I wanna get fixed up good and proper for my _guest_."

* * *

Back at the Academy, in the rafters above the hallway leading to Louise's room, two small shapes made their way across.

"Hurry! _Hurry! _Mistress wanted us to watch that dumb Void girl ages ago!" Aside from the both of them being the size of mice, the both of them looked like men of the wilds, complete with odd furs and clothing of straw covering them. These were brownies, elemental earth spirits. "We would've been there already if the dumb writer guy hadn't tried to put those weird blue things up here instead of us. Really, what kind of name is... is... shurfs?!"

The one in the lead suddenly stopped, forcing his companion to halt as well. "No it wasn't that... Swafs? No, no. Sweats?"

"_Smurfs_, Fran-Jean. Smurfs. You know, with the little mushroom huts and the singing and the-" The lead mini-man, Fran-Jean, raised a hand to stop the flow of words coming from his companion. "Yes yes, Rool, they're strange mutant freaks. Now, which way to that Void Girl's room?"

Once the little brownies made their way past the right door, the both of them looked down to observe their target watching the futuristic device and asking various questions. "But if this Princess loves him, why would this Ten-cheese actually find these other commoners attractive?"

_**Who Masaki Tenchi ends up with was a subject of accelerated debate for several years until the author created a third season to the Original Video Animation, silencing the arguments for good with a resounding, "Everyone Wins." **_

The pinkette huffed and tapped a button on the keyboard, resuming the playback of the Tenchi Muyo episode currently on the screen. "That's not what I mean. A sophisticated, proud Noblewoman actually gives this... th-th-this bumpkin more than the time of day, and he still doesn't realize what that means?!"

_**Perhaps in a way he does Controller; however, it is a common theme in many anime that the Male Romantic Lead have something of a blind spot regarding attraction towards him.**_

"I think it's obvious that this 'modern' world Ryu is so proud of needs a good dose of nobility, a strong ruling class to step in and get things done for the better." Louise smirked to herself, thinking about how she could start such a thing, beginning with a certain unruly familiar she knew.

But that lovely image in her mind suddenly vanished as a quaking rumble shook the whole of the room. "What was that?!"

_**Identifying... Tremor source estimated to be originating from central tower of the Academy grounds. **_

With a start the young Valliere hurriedly shut the notebook's lid while the power cords from Galeon detached and quickly wound back into the robotic lion's frame. "Let's go. Something's attacking the school and we should be there to help defend it!"

_**This is a very poor decision, Controller. The faculty are more than adequate to handle emergencies like this.**_

"And were they enough to handle the last _emergency_ to come along?" Her eyes stared into the watch face of C.D. as she spoke, further adding to the power of her argument. Before the device could answer Galeon roared his approval to the mage-in-training's attitude and the both of them bolted out the door.

_I do not need that rebellious familiar to save me at every turn, and I'll prove it!_

* * *

"I can't believe it..."

Kirche turned to where her date was looking and took a gander herself. "Well, some people live by their luck, Darling. No surprise there are also those who use their luck to make a living."

The Texan snorted before shaking his head. "If it were just that, I probably wouldn't be laughing so hard inside, Kir."

The Germanian just shook her head before moving. "I'm afraid I don't see what's so amusing about a place called the Turtle Game House."

"If I ever get into a Duel, you might." The redhead rolled her eyes before moving ahead once more while the G-cyborg kept looking and chuckling to himself. A short distance away, the third of the date-crashers looked on worriedly, whispering to himself.

"How am I supposed to discredit such a man? It's not as if an opportunity will just come out of thin air!" The young man, Gimli, twirled the hanging lock of his silvery hair around his fingers - a nervous habit he thought he had long since rid himself of, but which would pop up every now and then.

Suddenly two pairs of arms snaked out and grabbed Kirche, muffling her cries and efficiently dragging her into the darkened alleyway the arms came from. A moment after, a rough looking man appeared and moved towards the dude from another dimension, who was looking around for the missing hottie. "Lost sumfing, Sir?"

"Did you see a girl pass by? Long red hair, amber eyes, gifted figure?" Ryu continued glancing about the area, hoping to catch a glance of his missing ladyfriend.

"Actually Sir, I just saw a girl like that over there." The scruffian pointed towards the alley opening, making the Texan blink curiously.

"Why in the world would she go in there?" Quickly running into the narrow lane, Ryu skidded to a halt when he noticed who was already there. Kirche, with her arms bound tightly behind her back. A group of mismatched thugs, one of whom had a hand clapped over the Germanian's mouth. And bringing up the rear was the man from before, whose face had turned all levels of nasty. "Admiral Ackbar says..."

Suddenly, the G-cyborg seemed to gain hundreds of pounds in an instant as a great force fell upon him, making it where all he could do was try and remain standing. Seconds later a new voice spoke up. "Whoever this Ackbar is, I'm certain his words are of great value in many places... just as your gold is of value to _me_, here and now."

The pack of thieves parted to allow another in. His dark robe was slightly tattered, and his beard and short brown hair looked as if they were both starting to pull away from their owner's control. The hardness of his eyes completed the picture, one of a nobleman recently expunged from his class of birth. "Lemme guess, _former_ Noble?"

The Texan was answered by a flick of the man's wand, and another increase in the localized pull he was feeling. "I'll take that as a 'yes'."

"Enough banter. You will relinquish your funds to me and my 'associates'. In return, I promise to leave your lady friend... _relatively _unharmed." Kirche's muffled squeals at that were joined by a growl building in Ryu's throat.

"Touch her and you'll be lucky if I leave _you _relatively unharmed."

The leader smirked. "I'd show you the futility of that statement, but I'd rather not kill you until our business is concluded. Now, your valuables, please."

A feeling of warmth began building up in Ryu's joints as the internal components responded to their owner's mental commands. _20 seconds til I can use the EAM. Gotta keep talking. _"Before we get to that, man, I gotta know. How're you pulling this off?"

"Nothing you're familiar with I'm afraid. Though I will mention I've been recently inspired by the burgeoning scientific community." The once-nobleman shrugged. "A pity really, it would astound you to know how I'm accomplishing this."

The Texan smirked. "Actually, it feels like a localized increase in gravitational pull brought on by manipulation of geomagnetic forces."

The thief in noble's clothing stared at his prey before beginning to grin. "Are you a learned man, sir?"

_10 seconds._ "You could say that. Science is a bit of a hobby of mine. Earth mage, right?"

The leader began to preen. "Yes, indeed. Grissom the Avalanche, at your service. Formerly of South Gotha, but sadly I backed the wrong side in the recent uprising. Hopefully, once I have liberated enough funds from volunteers like yourself, I can book passage home."

"Sire, ain't you gonna kill 'im already? Me 'n the boys are wantin' fer our little _bonus_, y'know." Several of the other brigands were now openly leering at Kirche, and for once she'd rather not have been the center of attention.

The leader sighed. "Ah, well, he is right of course. Shall we begin the messy business?"

_CHARGE UP COMPLETE. ENHANCED ASSISTED MOBILITY SYSTEM ONLINE. STRENGTH INCREASE: 200% OF STANDARD._

Ryu's smirk turned nasty now. "Yes. _I shall._"

With that, the G-cyborg suddenly stood to his full height, and dashed towards the astounded group of thugs. Seconds later, those men that could scrambled out of the alleyway screaming in terror. Which left their helpless leader dangling in Ryu's iron grip, surrounded by minions groaning and unconscious. Kirche just stood to the side, wrists still tied, wondering how this would play out.

"P-p-please, my lord! Spare me!"

The dude from another dimension grimaced. "Just like you were going to spare me?"

* * *

That was about all Gimli could bear watching before running off himself. _Wh-wh-what IS he?!_

"So that's the story, more or less. Something has been supplying us with rations and parts for days now, but I can't really see us staying here indefinitely." Professor Shishio twirled one end of his mustache between two fingers. "Any thoughts, Tomoro?"

The massive computer core of the J-Ark spent several seconds digesting the elder Shishio's tale before responding. _**"I AGREE WITH YOUR ASSESSMENT, PROFESSOR. BEFORE YOUR ARRIVAL, MY SYSTEMS WERE RECORDING LOCALIZED ENERGY BURSTS IN THE VARIOUS STORAGE AND REPAIR BAYS. THE WAVE PATTERN IS SIMILAR TO THAT OF A G-STONE OR J-JEWEL."**_

Two holographic screens appeared showing the compared data to the GGG's chief scientist. His eyes focused on the information, and moments passed in relative silence while Tomoro-117 waited for a response.

"If we had a way to get through, could we home in on this energy signature and follow it to the source?" The inventor's expression was lighter now, a hopeful smile slowly making its way onto his face.

"_**POSSIBLY. BUT HASTE IS RECOMMENDED, AN ES WINDOW WAS NEVER MEANT TO BE MAINTAINED FOR THIS LONG. IT IS BEGINNING TO DESTABILIZE."**_

* * *

Back in Tristain, the three date-crashers lamented their losses within a nearby tavern. One nearly-empty pitcher of the local ale sat between Styx and Gimli as each tried hard to drown his sorrows. Ajax, however, had decided to go straight to the stronger stuff - a bottle of strong Romalian wine, already half-gone - hoping to silence all the parts of his mind that kept bringing up his horrid experience.

"It -_hic!_- I-it doesn't sheem to be working, fellows. I can shtill remem-ember the rollsh. Those terrible rolls of flesh!"

Ignoring his companion's inner plight, Styx took a long sip from his ale. "It doesn't make any sense. How can such a vulgar commoner be so, so..."

Gimli glanced up at his red-haired companion. "So Powerful."

"Sho Fortunate." Came the mumbled reply from the heavily-smashed nobleman.

The redheaded mage glared darkly before finishing. "...So devious. It's clear whatever hold he has on dear Kirche is so strong that it's making her think the best of him despite the situation. Simply scaring him off isn't enough anymore. We need to take steps to end this threat to our happiness."

The silver-haired youth nodded in agreement while a hiccup came from the other. Seconds later a loud cry rang out from another part of the bar. "WHADDYA MEAN YA GOT NO GOLD?!"

The patrons inside jerked towards an isolated corner of the bar, where the bartender - a burly brute if there ever was one - was hoisting up a supposed dine-and-dasher. The poor fellow in question was tall and rather lanky, with spiked blond hair. "You asked me if I had money, not gold!"

The skinny fool attempted to barter with some strange slips of paper, but the barkeep would have none of it. Finally, in a fit of rage the massive drink vendor spun his prey upside down and began literally shaking him down for anything of value.

Moments passed by and the other patrons could only see strangled gasps coming from the captive customer as he was jerked about. The idiot's fate as a dishwasher seemed certain, so the three nobles turned back to their drinks. Not even half a second later something clanged onto the bar counter.

It looked to be a silver hand pistol with an elongated barrel. The barkeep dropped the blond man to the ground and began looking the weapon over in the hope of guessing its worth. Styx, on the other hand, was more interested in the weapon's owner, and if he might be of use against a certain opponent.

"Truly Founder, you work in mysterious ways..." With that, he downed the last of his ale and moved over to the two of them.

* * *

If there's one thing I hate about myself it's that I forget important details until it's too late.

"Ow ow ow _OW!_ And not even a few days ago I'm showing off how smart I am by mentioning what's wrong with the goddamn shoulder in the first place!"

Case in point: not even ten seconds after I had activated the EAM system, the problem in my shoulder joint's power-tap acted up again, forcing me to drop that mage thief and allowing him to get away while I all but electrocuted myself.

Now I was stuck trying to find a way to bleed off the built-up energy safely without frying my arm in the process. I sat on the rim of a fountain near where the attack had taken place, with Kirche sitting next to me trying her best to soothe what ailed me. Dunno if it was working or not, but anything that feels _this _good, I'm gonna let it run its course even if it doesn't do a thing for me!

"How do you like my family's special '_Touch of Spring_' spell, Darling?" My impromptu nurse moved her lightly glowing palms over my affected limb and my upper back for good measure, which all but made me start purring.

Drowsily, I turned back to her. "You don't have to go out yer way like this Kir... Don't I already owe ya fer the book?" Glancing at the item in question peeking out from her satchel, I couldn't help but wonder how many adventures this Ivaldi guy had been a part of. Given how many times I could pick out his name from multiple books in the store, I have a feeling he had quite a few trips to write about.

Kirche smiled before hugging me from behind, resting her chin on my shoulder. "Darling, I doubt buying the whole of that bookstore for you could pay for the time I've had today. This simply has been the most fun I've ever had on a da-."

The word hitched in her throat as the busty beauty mentally scrambled to find a suitable substitute, before I simply sighed and rolled my eyes. "Just call it what it is, Kir. After the day I've had, not calling it a date would be an insult to the both of us."

I shrugged out of her embrace before turning to face her. Taking her hands in my own I continued, "Thank you for such an amazing day today, Miss Zerbst. Even if Louise flays me for attempting it, I would not be averse to having another day like this some other time."

I honestly believe Kir could've outshone the sun with how bright her smile was right then. "Then... then you accept me, Darling?"

I shrugged. "I don't mind trying to find out where this could take us, but I think you'll have to lead for a while. My guide to relationships never really got past the dating phase."

My date's expression turned puzzled before I started to explain what I meant, while at the same time the three date crashers and their new helper looked at us from around the corner. "There he is now, my friend. All you need to do is 'convince' him that our Lady Zerbst is better off with us, and the fee is yours."

The blond man's expression was puzzled. "Well, okay, but it doesn't really look like he's doing anything nasty to her."

With that, he made his way over to the two of us and proceeded to get our attention. "Hey there! Can I talk to you guys for a second?"

Kirche and I turned his way and I got a good look at him. White shirt and brown pants, though it looked like they were made for someone much thicker than he was. Add to that his gravity-defying blonde hair and his green eyes, and you had someone that I could probably remember after a fair amount of time. Honestly, though, why did he have to be so tall?

But despite the height envy I was feeling, I couldn't help but start to smile in response to the one on his face. "So, what's up, Hoss?"

Suddenly he got a very serious look on his face and made an exaggerated motion of clearing his throat. "I am here on behalf of various individuals who humbly request that you return Lady Kirche to them at once, if not sooner."

I blinked three times before turning to my date. "So when did you become a timeshare, Kirche?"

She stared back with a questioning eyebrow just before an odd greenish mist floated past her vision, causing her to flop unconscious to the ground. A large mound of earth then rose up from underneath her and actually rolled away with her still on top. Her unusual ride passed into a nearby alleyway as another wall rose up to seal off the passageway.

"Now we can hopefully finish this nasty business before things go even _more _wrong." The red-haired noble and his two compatriots walked up to the stranger and I with their wands raised and ready. "I did want to avoid taking a personal hand in your demise, sir, but apparently doing it ourselves is the only way to end this unusual farce of a day."

_Kirche's old toy-boys, no doubt. _"I guess you guys're afraid of a little competition?" I smirked as the three of them sputtered and turned red in the face. _I am in _so _much trouble._

"You will suffer for stealing my Lady from me!" The three of them shouted in unison, just before each of them realized what the others said. "'_Your _Lady'? She's _mine!_"

_Or am I? _"It seems to me, boys, that there isn't enough girl to spread out between y'all."

The three of them moved apart from one another, each sizing the other two up. And soon enough the bickering began. "It's clear that, as the leader, she's _mine _to claim!"

"_I'm_ the only one who didn't fail miserably at trying to discredit him today!"

"Only Kirche's bounteous bosom can erase the _horrors _from my mind! For the sake of my mental well-being, I _must _claim her!"

Unfortunately, just as I was about clear of the budding free-for-all, they actually came to a decision. "Wait, wait, _wait_! Why bicker amongst ourselves, when we have a mutual enemy to destroy! The first to slay him is the first to claim the lady fair!"

Suddenly all of them were focused on me again and I could only think of one thing. _Holy Triumvirates, Batman, this is bad._

* * *

On the other side of the walled up alleyway a large shadow erected itself over the sleeping form of the Germanian Beauty. Seconds later the redhead was forced to wakefulness as a giant tongue licked her happily. As Kirche sputtered in surprise she managed to glance up to the tongue's owner, a young blue dragon with bright green eyes. And wherever this particular dragon was found, close by would be-

"T-Tabitha!"

The bluenette nodded slightly as her familiar crooned. "Trouble."

The fire mage blinked at that. "And what does that mean? I'll have you know my date has been going quite well so-" She trailed off as the last few moments finally came back to her. "My Darling! Where is he?!"

Tabitha pointed her staff at the magically raised wall just as what sounded like a typhoon echoed from the other side into the alleyway. Kirche lifted herself partway up the wall and looked at the ongoing battle in growing shock. Ryu and that blond stranger were both doing their best to avoid getting hit by the various magic attacks from - Styx? Ajax? Gimili?!

Almost as soon as her mind had processed that, snippets of the battle's dialogue made their way to her ears; there was talk of the G-cyborg stealing her away from them, each pressing their supposed claims over her, like she was some prize mare to be bartered and bid over.

_They actually believe that I, Kirche Augusta Frederika Anhalt von Zerbst, will just bow to one or all of them simply because they've learned to attack __**my **__new lover en masse?! _She quickly dropped back off the wall and hurried past her friend with such a heated expression that the young blue dragon actually skittered back slightly. The Germanian on a mission quickly exited the other side of the alleyway and began making her way around to the opposing side of the impromptu battlefield.

Afterwards the young bluenette simply turned to her familiar and began rubbing its crested head to calm it down. "Dead men walking."

* * *

At the same time Tabitha was proclaiming doom for certain members of the male gender, the dude from another dimension had looked about ready to meet his end. All three of the date crashers had singled him out and had begun systematically herding him into a corner. The Texan, for his part, could do little but avoid the barrage of earth, water, and air coming his way.

Without Louise to supply and assist him, and his arm still damaged, Ryu was vulnerable for the first time in this world with someone actively seeking his life. That fact alone had been running through the G-cyborg's mind until he could think of nothing else.

His frantic zipping and weaving through the spells flung his way soon came to an end when he stumbled over a large upturned stone and crashed to a stop in front of the fountain. The Texan managed to turn around just in time to see Styx's smirking face looming over him with wand raised and an enormous boulder locked within his magical grip. "So it would seem that, without your amazing armor, you do indeed feel fear. Fitting that it will be the last emotion you will feel in this world. Gentlemen, if you please?"

With a simple flick of his wand, the boulder shattered into several small jagged pieces. Ajax and Gimli added their own elements to the swirling mix. All Ryu could focus on was the massive typhoon gaining in power and size; if the wind-blown rocks didn't skewer him like a kabob, he would drown from all the water. Even running wasn't an option since all he had at this point was enough functionality to move about like a normal person. _Oh my god. I'm actually gonna die. _

The three noblemen moved as one, their wands about to swing forward to send the lethal magical conglomeration to their target, filling the dude from another dimension with a sense of shock as his thoughts blanked out.

Just as the date crashers began their assault, Fate intervened once again. Something suddenly hit Styx's hand knocking his wand clean away, with the other two nobles suffering a similar fate immediately after. With no control, the magic simply collapsed, and the G-cyborg was startled back to wakefulness by a faceful of now harmless water.

Ryu sputtered and looked about, wondering what just happened. "Wh- Wasn't... wasn't there a big ol' spell here a second ago?"

Almost as fast came the blond stranger interposing himself between the young nobles and their target. "WOW! That was really amazing! How'd you guys make that twister just now?"

_What is he DOING?_ Right before Ryu's eyes the stranger tried to calm the date crashers and earned a backhand for his trouble.

"You dare?! You simplistic _fool_! First you take my veiled request for an assassination as a request for a diplomatic mediator to convince this _cuckold _to abandon his claim, and now you dare attempt to persuade us to _spare _him?!"

The blond man slowly stood back up while smiling slightly. "Well yeah. I mean, isn't better if we all live?"

The Texan's eyes widened. _It couldn't be..._

But before Ryu could put his suspicions to words, a cry rang out over the square. "Darling, GET DOWN!"

Seconds later a roaring burst of flame engulfed Styx and his party just as the blond and G-cyborg dove clear. The wave passed, and all three nobles looked a tad well-done on the ground, but somehow alive. Kirche then stalked up to them with an expression just as hot as what hit seconds before. "This is what Tristain Nobility is capable of? Skulking around corners, plotting schemes, daring to assume my consent to things only _I_ may consider?!"

The trio groaned and attempted to explain but she cut them off before speaking on. "Who I love and know is my business and mine alone! You tell that to any of the other boys that are also in on this... this _farce_!"

With that the Germanian dashed over to her date's side and began fussing over him.

On the bottom of the pile, Styx let his hanging head thump to the ground. "Never has a single day been so, so..."

"So heartbreaking." Gimli said with a choked sob.

"So unbearable." Ajax wept openly.

The redhead could only nod. "...so true..."

Soon all three were bawling at their complete defeat.

With the three fops forgotten, Ryu turned to the stranger now sitting beside Kirche and himself. "Well, man, thanks for the help. If you weren't around I'd be Ryu 'on the rocks' right about now."

The tall blond grinned. "Hehe, no problem, really. I'm just glad I was right about those sticks those boys were carrying."

The Texan oro-ed in confusion. "What d'ya mean?" A pause later he continued. "Wait...that was _you _knocking the wands out of their hands?!"

The stranger hemmed and hawed trying to find a suitable answer before Ryu spoke up again. "Can't believe I'm doing this... Hoss, I got a question for you!"

"Yes?"

Ryu held his hand out, index and middle fingers crossed. "What's this land made of?"

The blond gave a wide grin and repeated the gesture. "LOVE AND PEACE!"

The G-cyborg could only give a strangled groan before facefaulting to the ground. "Sonofa monkey bumper..."

The busty beauty blinked in confusion. "What's wrong, Darling?"

"Kir, allow me to introduce the Sixty Billion Double Dollar Man, a man with such skill and renown that he is known back home as the Humanoid Typhoon. Kirche, meet Vash the Stampede."

The man now known as Vash just gave an embarrassed chuckle. "I guess I'm well known here too..."

Ryu smirked. "Only to me, man, only to me."

* * *

She woke with a start, only to discover how much had changed since the sudden end to her battle with that unusual armored man. Instead of the battlefield, she was inside a spacious room made of stone, perhaps a keep or castle. Her wrists and ankles had been tied to the corners of the extravagant bed she laid upon. Her clothes were gone, and the first chilling thoughts that accompanied that fact were quickly stamped down. _Just stay calm, Setsuna. You knew this could happen when you became Lady Tenshi's double. Just keep in mind how you'll pay him back for whatever happens next. _

As the thoughts of castrating her captor improved her mood, the wooden door at the far side of the room suddenly opened up and two women entered carrying various articles of clothing. "Mother, this isn't right. She hasn't been collared yet, we could help her-"

The elder female's face spun towards the younger girl, eyes glaring and fierce. "And doom ourselves to being the 'serving girls' of that madman's entire battalion?! We wouldn't survive the month, my little bird!"

The former duchess turned back to the auburn-haired girl and locked eyes on Setsuna's generous bosom. "It is the only way, Daughter. Let someone more... _developed_ slake the lusts of our captor instead of us. All that matters is that you and I survive."

"So to survive, we have to condemn another to our fate?! How are we any different from Master then?!" A sudden, brutal backhanded slap was the ex-duchess' answer which knocked the younger girl to the floor. She covered her swelling cheek with a hand and looked back up with frightened eyes at her mother's enraged face.

"He - IS - **NOT **- **_MASTER!_**" That _monster_ killed your father, turned us into his playthings, and is days away from killing the king! Remember who you are! You are Michelle, daughter of Diana! You are fifth in line for Albion's throne, not the willing plaything of that _fiend!_" Michelle shivered slightly, before tossing her bundle to the ground and running back out the door sobbing. Diana scoffed at the retreating form. "Such a soft child. So be it, then."

Taking the dropped bundle in hand, the blonde made her way to the captive senshi who was staring at her with an unreadable expression. "Founder, forgive me for what I must do..." With that small prayer, the former duchess began dressing up the oriental sharpshooter in her new 'uniform'.

The last bow had just been tied when a familiar voice rang out. "Now _that _is a nice sight indeed. Well done, babe."

The ex-noblewoman stiffened slightly before turning towards the techno tyrant and kneeling down. "Your praise is too much for me, Lord Revan."

Revan nodded at her submissive tone before taking in the vision before him. The senshi now wore the outfit of the two girls already in his 'employ', save that the top seemed a size too small and no tiara was upon her head. Diana stood to leave so that she could give her 'master' some privacy, but was quickly halted by the BioNet Agent. "One second, I want you to see this in action first."

He reached into a sack that hung at his side and pulled out what looked to be a metallic scorpion without pincers and a jeweled bracer that he put on his left arm. Pressing two buttons on the construct's back quickly brought it to life just before Revan lobbed it onto the bed. Its single red glowing eye focused on Setsuna as it began skittering up towards her head, causing her to buck and thrash in her bonds in a mad panic. Up her stomach and over her breasts it crawled, stopping for one small second at her sternum to stare her in the eye with its own. The action made her go still instinctively, just long enough for it to crawl around her neck and behind her head.

Then the screaming began.

Diana could only look on in horror as the girl tied to the bed thrashed about in her bonds screaming wordlessly for what seemed like an eternity, before abruptly falling still as if in death. A band of metal then wound across her neck and a small red oval appeared in the center, completing the device's task.

The Demon of Albion simply chuckled and walked up to the bed before methodically cutting the bonds holding the senshi captive. Not one second after the last cord was cut, Setsuna's eyes snapped open and she lunged at Revan intent on choking the life from him.

Her hands clasped tight around his neck as her momentum forced the G-cyborg to the floor. _Now you die!_

He managed to push her off and dodge her second lunge before uttering a single phrase. "Sit!"

As if a switch went off in her mind, Setsuna suddenly dropped to the floor and sat down with her legs tucked in and was unable to stand again. At her confused expression, Revan grinned widely and continued speaking. "This is an experimental take on the Confinement Collar that BioNet was developing. It actually interfaces with the spinal cord and interferes with the sections of the human brain dedicated to motor control. Basically, as long as it's attached to the back of your neck, and with this control unit I have on my arm now, I can make your body do whatever I wish it to! Neat, huh?"

_You bastard son-of-a-hog! Release me this instant! _

The cyborg's grin turned sinister as he bid her to stand, which her body complied with. "You still have to pay for the lives of the men you killed, woman. I think a lap around the keep with you on all fours and without clothes should be sufficient to show the boys how incredible I am. But first, show me how sexy you can be. Dance."

She was about to tell him where to shove it when her face took on a sultry gaze and her body began moving on it's own, removing articles of clothing as she performed for him. All she could do was scream in in silent rage within her own mind.

The former noblewoman, in turn, could only stare at what was taking place. _Oh Founder, what have I done?_

* * *

With Vash in tow, the now-larger group made its way back to the Academy after making a quick stop off to where the blond gunman had last left his trademarked red coat - or, rather, what was left of it. Afterwards, he regaled his audience with the tale of how he had come to find himself in this world, something that Ryu was finding rather enjoyable.

"First thing you met when you got here was a herd of wild boars?!" The bionic familiar laughed out loud. "Man, your luck doesn't change, does it?"

The Humanoid Typhoon chuckled at the memory before continuing. "Yea, that was the first real clue I wasn't where I was supposed to be. Anyway, I ran as fast as I could, only to have the whole group chase after me!" With that, he showed off his coat, specifically the parts that had been slashed and torn. "If it wasn't for that farm I found on the way, I dunno what I woulda done!"

Kirche then smirked as she spoke up. "And yet, you brought trouble to that very farm in the form of a stampeding herd..."

The blond blanched at the thought of the tusked titans running roughshod over those fields... and the fury of the owners afterwards. "I've never planted so many things in my life. Worst part was, they wouldn't let me eat until the whole field was reseeded!"

The busty beauty nodded. "Well, I am certain the help at the Academy should be able to repair your coat, Mr. Vash. The seamstress I know there has amazing skill in leatherwork. I don't let anyone else work on my boots and things."

The G-cyborg then stopped dead in his tracks as his imagination processed that statement. "Hehehehe... sweeet."

Kirche's eyebrow raised slightly. "Darling?"

The Texan quickly banished the budding fantasy for a later time. "Um, anyway, I'm just glad things have a chance to calm down now."

Soon the group reached the last hillside before their destination would be in view. Ryu urged his companions faster as he jogged up himself. But once at the top, a much different sight than what was expected greeted them. Smoke was rising from the towers of the Academy, and several of the retaining walls were heavily damaged.

The bionic familiar's eyes narrowed. "Guys, hop on. I'm getting us there _now._"

Kirche quickly settled into Ryu's arms in a bridal carry as Vash climbed upon his back. "Um, how exactly are we getting there faster?"

_ENHANCED STABILIZERS - ACTIVE. LEG STRENGTH INCREASE: 280% OF STANDARD. DURATION: 20 Seconds._

The Texan smirked. "Like this."

With that, the dude from another dimension dashed toward the ruined school as his two passengers screamed for him to slow down. Moments later they arrived at the front gate to find students, teachers, and assorted help doing their best to clean up the debris from whatever had happened.

"Sir Ryu!" Teana quickly ran up to the trio, much more dirty than she tended to be normally. "Thank Founder you've come back!"

The Texan's hardened eyes quickly smothered her good cheer. "What happened, Teana?"

"I'm not sure. I was gathering laundry for the evening's wash when the whole school shook about. I looked outside and saw a giant golem trying to bring down the central tower. I noticed Miss Valliere and a few other students try to stop it, and then... well-"

"WELL WHAT?!"

The blond gunman quickly moved to hold Ryu's fury back from the now shaking maid. "Just calm down! What happened next, Miss?"

All the brunette could do was point to a section of the tower that had a message scrawled upon it.

The dude from another dimension turned to his date for the day. "What's it say, Kir?"

The fire mage frowned as she began speaking. "The Duchesses la Valliere and la Gardenia have been taken into my care. Their complete safety will be paid for by bringing the Great Lance to Prism Rock by midday tomorrow. Signed, _Fouquet the Crumbling Dirt_."

The G-cyborg let his gaze wander around the ruined courtyard, before it finally settled on the light green hair of Miss Longueville. She soon felt herself being watched and looked up to stare Ryu in the eye.

He nodded once in the earth mage's direction, to which she gave one in reply. "Think this Fouquet will accept an ass-beating in lieu of actual payment?"

* * *

Chapter End.


	5. Chapter 5: Elemental Madness

Prince of Braves, Zero's Familiar

Disclaimer: All persons, objects or series belong to their creators and this work in no way is meant to profit off of them. Just a simple author enjoying his hobby for others to read in a free world.

~Speech~: Wi-fi transmission

'_Speech'_ :Thoughts

"_Speech_": Language not understood by everyone, Emphasis

"_**Speech**_": Audio Speaker Output

Chapter Revised: 3/17/2014

* * *

Chapter 5: Elemental Madness

* * *

That night, the dude from another dimension and his growing party met up in Old Osman's office to figure out what to do next.

"Thankfully the Great Lance just came back into our possession from its latest visit to the Research Institute, but this also means we can't stall for time in the event we need to." The aging headmaster ran a hand through his beard as he continued to speak his thoughts into order. "Given your quick success against General Gramont's son soon after your arrival, I trust you can apprehend this thief without too much difficulty?"

The Texan grimaced as he crossed his arms. "If I had access to a cybernetics repair bay, sure. The fight with Revan and the mess earlier today have left my body in bad shape. I should still be able to transform if it comes to that, but to do _that, _Louise needs to be nearby. Fouquet couldn't have chosen a better way to attack us."

Osman turned back to the assembled group. "So all that can be done is paying the ransom?"

Ryu snorted at that thought. "Not a chance! Louise is _my _partner, and I'm gonna save her, come hell or high water!" With that the G-cyborg turned to those who stood alongside him. "But I'm gonna need help. Whaddya say guys, you up for it?"

As he took in the feel of his newly repaired coat and leathers, Vash nodded his consent. "Sure. It's always the duty of a peace loving gunman to help a lady in distress."

Tabitha and Kirche both agreed as well in their own way, one with a subtle nod, the other with flair by blowing a kiss to the dude from another dimension. "It will be a pleasure to watch you in battle again, Darling."

The headmaster smiled at the show of youthful bravado. "Very well, then I shall leave it to you and your allies, Sir Ryu. Please bring back my students safely."

Ryu nodded firmly, before his expression turned puzzled. "Question: Why are you calling me Sir? Not that I'm complaining or anything, it just seems out of place that a noble would use a reverent term like that for someone normally seen as 'beneath them'."

"Normally you would be right, my boy; any other noble would be that way. However, anyone able to wear such powerful armor and defeat a monster that several Square class mages could only scratch is certainly not normal as far as I am concerned. It is just good business to be respectful to those who can easily outdo you." The wizened headmaster then walked over to his desk and took hold of his pipe. He had just lit it and was about to take a hit when the ivory-handled trinket jerked and floated out of his hand.

"It is also good business to take care of one's own health." Miss Longueville walked through the door to the office and let the pipe drift into her open hand before continuing. "Something that, lately, you seem content on making me perform for you."

"When you get to be _my_ age, Miss Longueville, you start to wonder if Death will ever show up without help."

Suddenly the Humanoid Typhoon raised his hand like he was in school. "Um, I have a question. Just what _is _the Great Lance, anyway?"

Osman _hmm_'d and stroked his beard again before speaking. "Long ago, Founder Brimir used this tower and facility for his research into other worlds. There were many times where the familiars summoned by mages-in-training were something never seen before. Sad to say, but you and Sir Ryu are not the first odd visitors to our world, though you _are _the first humans in recent history."

Ryu smirked. "Damn, now I'm feeling unoriginal."

"Eventually, the Founder began to experiment with 'Summon Servant', 'Create Servant' and other such relevant spells to see what treasures he could uncover. One such experiment brought the Great Lance to our world. It appeared, like most new things, in the area where the Vault is now. But at the moment when it landed on the floor, _something_ caused it to activate for the first time."

The bluenette looked up from her ever-present book just then. "Vague."

The Square class mage nodded and continued. "No one really knows what occurred Miss Tabitha, but the result has existed to this day. The powers of the Lance and the energies of the Founder's portal came together and made that hole in the air permanent."

The Texan crossed his arms and put himself deep in thought. "So... it's something that can make dimensional portals, or at least make ones stable and permanent. Not really my first impression when I think of a 'Lance.'"

* * *

Back in the fading ES Window, things were getting rather interesting. Guy had finally returned to wakefulness and, along with the rest of the GGG Science team, was helping to concoct an escape plan.

But oddly enough, the most prominent innovation wasn't coming from Professor Shishio, but rather his nephew. And where Guy was getting the help from made it even stranger.

"You got all of this... from a voice in the wind?" The eldest Shishio was referring to a complex mathematical formula that seemed to help one isolate specific dimensional coordinates, assuming he was reading it right. "Normally I'd be concerned when someone I know is hearing things, but considering the things you've been through, I guess I should be grateful for the help."

Almost as soon as Guy had woken up and had heard about the current state of affairs, the formula seemed to waft into his ears. Leo's nephew was no slouch in the intellectual department, having excelled academically to the point that he was selected for a major space mission before the events that would lead to him becoming the Evoluder that he was today; yet, for all Guy could make of it at this point, it might as well have been a recipe for biscuits. "I'm sorry that I can't remember more about it, Uncle. All I know is this will help us get where we need to be." The Evoluder then turned back towards the Infirmary for what seemed like the hundredth time with a concerned expression.

"Guy, go to her. I think we can get this on our own."

The Commander of the Robo Corps turned a relieved gaze towards the Professor before dashing out the door. Chuckling, the aging inventor turned back to the problem that would hopefully be a solution for them all. "Okay, everybody, let's get cracking!"

Moments later, Guy was back at the place he had been as often as life would allow him, Mikoto's bedside. Logically, he knew she was fine and was due to wake up at any time - but that just spurred him to stay there all the more. He _needed_ to be the first that she saw when she finally regained consciousness. But right now, he was just so worn-down after helping his uncle work on the escape plan... maybe if he just... rested his head for a few seconds...

The savior of an entire universe was asleep the moment his head touched the sheets. Not even a second later, the girl who had done so much for him in his battle with the Sol Masters stirred to wakefulness. Looking around the room, Mikoto noticed the sleeping Evoluder at the side of the bed and smiled happily.

* * *

In a galaxy far, far away from Halkeginia, amazing things were happening as well with the two ships sent to verify the initial readings from Cybertron's surface.

"_**After all this time, Cybertron has come back online? You're certain, Hound?**_" Aboard the Ark-12, it's captain chuckled before showing a mugful of the precious, glowing liquid. "Optimus, no one was more skeptical than I when we were dispatched here to confirm things. But after multiple scans and half the crew that went down to the surface for a closer look drinking themselves close to stasis lock, I think we can safely say it's not a dream."

The forest green mechanoid took a look outside at the home many Transformers never thought to live on again. "It's a miracle... an honest-to-Primus _miracle._"

On the viewscreen, the image of the Autobot leader allowed himself to sag in relief, feeling the weight of that particular sin beginning to hover off his shoulders, before squaring them for the task at hand. "_**Then there's no time to waste. Hound, I need you and your team to establish a base at the ruins of Iacon and await our arrival. I'm pulling everyone that can be spared to bring back to Cybertron. I have no doubts that the Decepticons will be doing the same.**_"

Hound nodded in affirmation of his new orders. "Understood, Prime. I'll see if we can't get settled in the old Autobot base near the Decagon. My codes should still be accepted."

* * *

I knew that I needed every bit of rest I could get so I'd be on my A-game tomorrow, but try telling that to a hyperactive mind that _would. not. shut. up._ The fact that something had happened to Louise while I was away just wouldn't lay down and die, which is why I was prowling the covered walkways of the school long after everyone else was probably asleep. The hope was I could tire myself out so I could crash somewhere for a few hours.

It wasn't working.

"Big throwdown's happening tomorrow and all I can do is worry about Louise. Even accepting the fact that there was no way I could've known isn't helping. What's the matter with me?" The only thing I could know for sure was this odd pressure, a tug of some kind, was trying to make me do something or go somewhere. All it was managing to do was slowly annoy me to the point of madness, like an itch I couldn't find or scratch but just knew was there. It was _there_, but I couldn't make it stop or _understand what it is and I'm goingouttamymindand__**LouiseisGONE-!**_

With a howl, I took a swing at the nearby wall, which made a solid thunk sound but little else. "No suit, no strength, no real advantage whatsoever. It's just me, unplugged, against an Earth mage with a penchant for making Nobles feel pathetic and a sudden interest in taking hostages! Dammit, could this _get _any worse?!"

"'It's always darkest just before the dawn.'"

I turned to the new voice in my mental musings and found Teana looking at be with a basket of laundry in her arms. "My father used to say that when things got so bad it looked like nothing good could ever happen again."

She put down the soiled clothes and took the fist I still had pressed against the wall, before pulling me towards the moonlit field. "But even when things get that desperate, dawn will always come."

The maid then looked skyward and I, in reflex, did the same. What I saw up there reminded me why astronomy interested me so much. The breathtaking sight of nebulae, stars and sky mixing together into something no mortal could ever create.

And after a simple few seconds of simply staring at the starfield overhead, I actually felt something like myself again. "...'to remember the Once Ways, and that even in the Darkness there is still Light.'"

Teana looked at me questioningly, before I turned to her smiling. "Sorry, was reminded of a quote from a favorite movie of mine. Just seemed appropriate to say."

The brown haired girl simply grew more puzzled. "What's a moo-vee?"

I laughed before scratching the back of my head. "I'll show you some time, once I've shown our thief the error of her ways."

She smiled at that, the the both of us turned back to the starfield overhead for a few moments more before Teana spoke up again. "I heard that you and Miss Zerbst are... courting each other now."

I turned back to her wondering what brought _that _on, since I couldn't see her expression that well. Was she mad at me or something? "Well, yeah, we did agree to start dating. But I'm not exactly ready to buy a ring and propose to her, if that's what you're asking."

She seemed to shrink in on herself before speaking again. "It's nothing. Forget I said anything."

Suddenly, she straightened up as if nothing had been bothering her at all. "May I ask you something, Sir Ryu?"

I shrugged. "Sure, but drop the 'Sir' part. I'm not really a knight, and I don't want regular folks thinking I'm above them or some-such crap. Just call me Ryu, ok?"

I then quickly leaned closer to the young maid in a stage whisper. "And I'd appreciate it you told that to Marteau, too. If I hear him call me Our Shield again, I just might deck him."

The resounding giggle from my stargazing partner pushed me the rest of the way back into a content, and now sleepy, frame of mind. I stifled a yawn as best I could before speaking again. "Thanks for the help, Teana. Seems like I can finally get some shut-eye. But what did you wanna ask me?"

"How long has it been since that clothing of yours was washed or mended?" She quickly realized the answer to that as the seconds dragged on without me saying anything. "_Never_?"

"Uh... whoops?" I grinned, shrugging. "My bad."

And before I could say anything against it, Teana quickly ran behind me and tugged off my overshirt. "Oh my goodness! Burn marks, tears - I can't believe you've let such quality fabric fall into this state!"

With a skill borne of experience, the bright-eyed girl had folded up my dress shirt fast as can be and placed it on top of the bundle she had with her before picking up the basket once again. "Before you leave tomorrow, I'll have it back here as good as new. After all, a hero should look his best before charging into the breach, right?"

I barked out another laugh at that. "I'm no hero. Just a guy who got stuck in an unusual bit of luck, that's all."

Her head tilted to the side, as if mulling over something, before walking past me towards the path she was taking earlier. As she did so, Teana suddenly leaned up on her toes to give me a quick peck on the cheek. "Then I hope you stay lucky... Ryu. I don't think I could take hearing that two of my friends died tomorrow."

I blinked in confusion. "Siesta and Louise?"

"Miss Siesta and Ryu. I'm afraid I don't know Miss Valliere that well just yet." With that, she jogged off towards the laundry room, basket in hand.

Rubbing the warm part of my face that been touched by the kiss just now, I gave a slight smirk. "Sounds like a plan to me."

* * *

What separates Prism Rock from any other crystal formation on Halkeginia isn't what it's made of, but rather how it got there in the first place. Several hundred years ago, the site was one of the most fertile plains in all the continent. And like most things of extreme value, this strip of land soon saw conflict after conflict over who held controlling ownership of it. Eventually the ever escalating battles reached a crescendo when a single mage or a group - history is still unsure how many were in on this _brilliant_ idea - pulled off the only known instance of calling down a meteorite to attack one's enemies.

Now, had the one or _ones_ in question known more of astronomy at the time they might've realized why this was a bad idea, but since they didn't, the fighting came to an abrupt end as the armies, field, _and _the surrounding area were annihilated by the impact and blast wave. In the center of the miles-wide crater was the cooling remnant that would one day be called Prism Rock as excavation and erosion slowly revealed the gleaming gemstone underneath its carbonized outermost layer.

Now, the point of this little history lesson is to explain why a certain hot-blooded Texan hadn't just marched up here the very hour he had learned of the abduction and put the big spank-spank on a certain female thief. Steep cliff walls with only a few known paths to the crater floor isn't something you'd wanna travel at night. It had still taken multiple graphic accounts of fools falling to their deaths before Ryu had agreed to wait til the chosen exchange time.

But that still left Louise and Siesta in Fouquet's company for the night, which is where this narration now leads you to. Deep inside one of the many natural fissures and chambers of the heavenly landmark, the young mage-in-training was coming around.

"Miss Valliere. Miss Valliere, please!"

The sound cut through the rest of the haze in Louise's mind, forcing her up into a sitting position. "Wha?! Where..."

As the pinkette looked around her surroundings, the events of a few hours ago came back to her. "I lost, didn't I?"

Siesta nodded before patting the young Valliere on the shoulder. "Yes, but you made a... that is, um...a-an exceptional effort?"

'_And like so many other 'efforts' in my life, a crashing failure._' Louise thought to herself, feeling the tears in her eyes beginning to swell. '_Am I truly _that_ useless without that idiot familiar of mine?_'

At that point the pinkette quietly broke down, her pride finally shattering under the weight of her situation. "I-I-I c-can't even protect m-m-myself against a simple thief...my family probably knew this would happen...i-it's w-why..."

"Now now, I'm not a 'simple thief'. If I were, I doubt I could have stood up to you _and _that strange metal animal of yours." The two young nobles jerked towards the new voice in the cavern, and found a woman hiding her face under a hooded cloak near the entrance. "But don't despair, you shall be free to go once the Lance is in my hands. Until then, however..."

The mysterious lady pulled back the right sleeve of her robe, revealing a shining gold bracer with five gems inlaid within. A smooth cut ruby, emerald, sapphire, topaz and onyx were locked in a circular disk at the bracer's apex, which the stranger began to turn until the topaz side faced forwards. The two captives then felt a rush of power from the trinket as rods of crystal sprang up from the floor and attached to the ceiling, sealing off the entrance. "I would find a way to pass the time ladies, for without your wands you do not have a way out of here without my help. Enjoy your stay."

She turned to leave, just as Louise suddenly leapt to her feet. "Wait a minute! Where's C.D.?! The device that was on my wrist earlier?"

The woman turned back to them and smirked, showing off what was on her other arm. There was C.D., slightly chipped and damaged. "It's right here, but for some reason it's not very talkative to me. Perhaps that fight damaged it somehow."

With that, she turned and left the two mages alone in their prison for the night.

* * *

_I fell - or was I flying? -, through what seemed to be a cross between a starfield, a lightning storm, and absolute chaos. It was burning, freezing, crushing and suffocating all at the same time._

"My Slave, who lives somewhere in this universe!"

_Slave? I'm a...no. No! NO! I'm nobody's-GAH! Th-the pain's getting worse. _

_My Hand! I-I'm coming apart! I see my body start fragmenting like something's mincing every inch, a bit at a time. A light envelops me and starts to dispel whatever is breaking me apart. I see the flesh of my hand and arm reassemble itself around something metallic before more of it starts covering my body._

"Oh sacred, beautiful and strong familiar spirit! I desire and here plead from my heart!"

_That voice again. I see ahead of me and notice some kind of bright green oval appearing. Is that where the voice is coming from? The one that will...I can't go there. I won't!_

_The pull towards the oval gets stronger. I can't stop moving. _

"Answer to my Guidance!"

_I DON'T WANT TO!_

_A flash of light fills my vision, and when I can see again...I'm looking at a view of the outside on some kind of video screen. No, it's the HUD of my helmet… dammit, how did I-_

* * *

I jerked awake suddenly, bringing an end to...whatever that was. "I thought I only had dreams like that after an 8-hour anime marathon."

Taking a look around reminded my of the current state of affairs, and the business to come the next day. Usually, I just found an empty room in the section of the main tower reserved for the servants to sleep in during the night, but with Louise gone it didn't feel right leaving her room unoccupied. I'm sure Kirche wouldn't have minded sharing her sleeping arrangements, but for some reason being anywhere close to the busty beauty tonight felt awfully like betraying my partner.

So for my peace of mind, if nothing else, I was currently using the pinkette's bed for my much needed sleep. From my place atop the blankets, I twisted onto my side and let my thoughts wander about what I could remember from the dream I just had. "If a familiar is a slave to it's summoner, then why allow me my free will?"

Soon enough the lack of any forthcoming answer lulled me back to sleep.

* * *

_I fell - or was I flying? -, through what seemed to be a cross between a starfield, a lightning storm, and absolute chaos. It was burning, freezing, crushing and suffocating all at the same time._

"My Slave, who lives so-"

_The voice and pain suddenly stopped as did the lightning flashes around me. In it's place was a grand view from outer space of a planet, one made entirely of metal. I begin moving towards it and can hear another voice, but this one seems nothing like the one before._

"_**Interesting. So you are the one who has brought me out of Stasis Lock. Carbon-based Lifeform. Species Designation: Human. My children have experienced your kind before. What is your name?"**_

_Name?_

"_**Ahh...Your people require a period of induced shutdown to facilitate internal restoration. Perhaps this will help."**_

_Something surrounded me and_ suddenly I felt aware of the fact this was a dream, yet completely calm about it. "Whoa...nice wakeup call."

I studied the gleaming metal sphere in the heavens for a minute or two before I realized what I was looking at. "Holy God. T-that's Cybertron, isn't it?"

"_**That is the name my children have given me, yes. But I believe you already know my true name."**_

When it hit me it felt someone actually _had_. "Primus...God of Transformation, Counterpart to Unicron, the original Deus Machina...Holy Hanna, I'm talking to an actual god."

A deep chuckle filled my ears before the view changed to a cavernous chamber with a giant sphere with glowing lines, kinda like circuits, all around the surface. One set of markings in particular made me stare in surprise. "Who doodled the Sign of G on you?"

"_**I am unsure, the sigil was present when I awoke. Currently, it is transferring an unknown energy directly into my systems with 96.35% efficiency. The transfer rate has been steadily deteriorating since reactivation, and if calculations are correct the connection should terminate itself in one human month. May I ask how you managed to make this connection in the first place?"**_

I made a show of puzzling out the question before simply shrugging. "No idea. I didn't even know you really existed until just now -er, no offense, sir."

"_**None taken. And please, call me Primus. Calling me 'sir' is quite unnecessary." **_

I rubbed the back of my head embarrassedly. "Sorry about that, but I was taught to be super-respectful to intergalactic deities, since you never know what might make them consider you for target practice."

"_**What could possibly prepare you for interaction with such beings?"**_

I grinned. "Science Fiction, naturally."

* * *

I found myself unable to fall back asleep after the first showing of past memories, so instead I was enjoying the view of the night sky from the veranda of my keep in little more than a pair of pants. It _still _rankled me that that goody-goody poser of mine somehow managed a Hail Mary like that, even after I had trumped that special move of his.

I grimaced angrily, remembering that tiny slip of a girl who looked just like a kid to my eyes. '_How did she do that? _How?_ Power like that was better suited for a Dragonball Z fic or something.' _

As I kept staring up at the stars, another thought struck me. '_Joseph did want me to keep an eye out for 'strange powers', didn't he? What's he know that I don't?'_

"Master?"

I turned to the side and noticed the younger of my matched set of girls - Michelle, I think her name was - standing partially hidden by the doorway with a sheet wrapped around her. "Well? What is it, babe?"

She flinched and looked like she was about to book it before speaking again."Y-You just left bed so suddenly, I was...concerned about you."

I scoffed lightly and turned back to the starfield above, just before a sudden breeze sent gooseflesh all over me. Trying to suppress a shiver, I spoke up. "Then bring yourself and that blanket over here, I keep forgetting that we're at 7,000 ft."

She slowly moved over to me as if a sudden movement would make me snap at her. As soon as the blond was close enough I gripped the cloth and yanked the sheet clean off of her making her spin in place for a split second wearing nothing but her collar. She came to a stop as the wind picked up again making her shiver and jiggle in all sortsof interesting ways. "M-m-m-master? I-i-it seems that it's getting colder. Mm-m-might I w-w-w-warm you up... under the blanket?"

"Well, hurry up then. I'm not in a mood to catch a cold or anything." I could've just told her to get back in bed and wait for me if she was so cold... must've still been a bit groggy from that damn dream. The former duchess quickly dashed into the warmth under the sheet before I could say anything else.

As she bundled herself and me up tighter against the chill wind, part of me couldn't help but smile slightly as my arms settled around her form.

* * *

Hours passed, and the Night Before became the Morning Of. At Prism Rock, Louise and Siesta had eventually fallen asleep after several hours talking to pass the time, through which both had begun to see each other in a more friendly light. Currently, the two were huddled close together for warmth as the bars of their gemstone cell suddenly glowed and melted away into the ceiling and floor.

A stranger entered the chamber, wearing a simple tunic and pants as well as a dark green hood over his eyes and face, shading his identity. Reaching to his side, he drew a dagger and began to advance on the sleeping duo. "Little one, I know you did not ask for this curse, but know that your death will be merciful and swift." He whispered to himself, eying the pinkette's throat as she shifted, baring his target to him. "Thank you, for paying for the safety of this world with your life."

The knife had been sharpened so finely that the incision wouldn't even be felt, the girl would bleed to death still in a content dream. _'But how many times has it been? How many lives will still have to be spent before - What's that sound?'_

It was so small that had it not been for the acoustics of the chamber, the assassin would've missed the growl building up behind him before a loud roar cut through the air. He turned in time for a metallic grey paw with gold claws carve a diagonal slash across his hood and face. The roar and scream of pain startled the two noblewomen to wakefulness, treating them to the sight of an unknown person trying to fight off the leonine mechanoid with a knife.

The stranger had a free hand to his face, covering a ragged gash in the hood that was leaking blood while keeping his weapon in a ready position. The bionic beast was also injured, deep cracks were all over his body, a one of its fangs and part of his face had been broken off showing the machinery underneath, and one of the hind legs was barely moving at all. Even so, the creature would not be deterred as he leapt forward to attack twice again. The unknown assailant managed to dodge the first and deflect the second before ducking out the opening of the cavern. The mechanoid was close behind, but by the time he had turned the corner into the passageway, the stranger was gone, and he then had to contend with a certain mage-in-training.

"Galeon! Galeon, you're okay!" Louise crashed into the mecha lion's side with a firm hug, allowing the memory of the fight before to come back to her. She and Galeon had stood up to the thief attempting to break into the Academy's Vault. The sight of golem that size trying to punch a hole in the tower was a bit unnerving, but the pinkette was determined to show what she could do.

Louise attempted a spell, using what her experimentations had taught her. What came out was akin to a Fireball, but horribly underpowered as it popped against the construct's skin harmlessly. The young Valliere had little time to be disappointed as the 'blast' managed to get Fouquet's attention long enough for her to command the golem to crush the little interloper.

The massive fist of earth and stone stuck only lawn grass as Galeon scooped his charge onto his back, running clear of the attack. At that point, spells and attacks from all four tiers of the known elements began raining down on the earthen monster and its rider. After the events with Revan's assault upon the Academy, the student body as a whole were now aware of a successful tactic against an opponent of superior strength: Overwhelming Numbers.

It seemed that it would prove useful here as well, Fouquet was used to handling the odd armed guard or two at night, but never groups like this. But suddenly the thief began casting powerful spells. Of different elements. _Without a wand._ At this point, the mage-in-training believed that that had something to do with that strange bracer she saw last night, but back then the shock of it was enough to drive the loosely aligned collection of students into a panic. The faculty that had been attacking with the students were easily picked off afterwards, leaving only two to oppose the magic thief.

The young Valliere and her robotic ally still tried to keep up the attack, but without the support of the other students or teachers, Galeon was on his own. And eventually, it had to make a choice between protecting Louise or himself. He chose Louise, and managed to get her out of the way of another strike of the golem's fist, only to be flattened by it instead.

Finally, Fouquet had enveloped the entire area in a sort of mist,and the mage-in-training knew no more until she and her fellow captive had awoken in this place. But why had they been taken? Any attempt for ransom would be met with extreme force from both their families, who would view the kidnapping as a dire insult.

_But would the Academy? _The pinkette suddenly thought to herself. _That thief was after something from the Vault, and the Headmaster wouldn't be angered like our families would over something like this. What could Fouquet be after?'_

Turning her attention back to the damaged mechanoid, Louise knew staying here would only help her enemy. "Galeon, can you lead us out of this place? I would rather not be used as a bargaining chip for whatever that person is after."

Galeon nodded and began moving toward the exit he knew of, with the noble girls close behind.

* * *

Back at the Academy, Ryu's big day was beginning with a rather gentle prodding. "_Darling... Daaaarling, wake up..."_

The Texan stirred to life from his prone position atop the covers of the four poster bed, turning towards the source of the pretty voice only to discover a pair of rather fetching tits in his view. "...It would seem my dreams have lead me to the Land of Large Breasts. I must remember to thank Primus later for this..."

"Not dreaming." Ryu followed his hearing to the other new occupant of the room, Tabitha. Her nose was within an ever-present book which held the majority of her attention.

The dude from another dimension grinned. "In which case I _really _need to thank him later."

The Germanian's giggles put a nice ending on that little routine. "Come on, Darling. We don't have that much time!"

"But noon's several hours away, isn't it?" A small part of him began to panic at the thought of him somehow _missing _the entire point of today. He quickly bolted out of the bed to a standing position grabbing Kirche's shoulders. "Isn't it? What time is it now?!"

The bluenette calmly answered. "Dawn."

"Tabatha wanted to get you something in town before we left so you would be prepared for the unexpected, Darling." Suddenly the busty beauty ducked out of the Texan's grip and leaned in close to his face with a bright smile. "Now hurry! Even with Tabitha's dragon, we don't have all day!"

Moments after a quick jaunt on Dragon Airlines, the trio were heading through the bazaar looking for a shop to service the need at hand. Speaking of which...

"What are we looking for, anyway?" Ryu asked, following behind Tabitha while Kirche stayed in step with him.

The mistress of frozen winds looked about the street and shops almost lazily before replying. "Weapon."

Once again the Germanian played translator. "What she means is since you can't use your armor or that strength of yours right now, a weapon of some kind would be a great help in case an emergency came along today."

The dude from another dimension blinked once, twice, three times before groaning and smacking the palm of his left hand against his forehead. "Marty, you're not thinking _Fourth Dimensionally!_"

Upon seeing their confused expressions, he continued. "I _can't believe_ I never thought of doing that."

"Happens."

But now that he was thinking of it, the Texan realized that there was one sword in particular he wanted to get his mitts on. Thankfully, the first place they managed to find was the very store Ryu hoped to get into.

Once inside, the owner tried to give his pitch for the most costly item he had thinking the two noblewomen would be easy marks. "This is our absolute best sword, crafted by the renowned Germanian alchemist, Lord Shupei himself! It is said that through this inscription here, it can cut steel like butter!"

Tabitha was reading, and thus not paying the slightest bit of care to the sword being peddled. The rat-faced man _was_ having an effect on Kirche, who loved how the golden blade glittered and gleamed in the light. The G-cyborg, on the other hand...

"Two questions, man. First: is that whole blade made of pure gold?" Ryu asked, crossing his arms with a neutral expression on his face.

The shopkeeper nodded vigorously. "Oh yes, yes indeed! A blade fit for any king!"

"Is there a spell on it to maintain the natural hardness of the blade?"

Again came a nod. "Indeed, it's as strong as the metal will allow at all times, no dulling or rusting-

"It's worthless then." The Texan walked over to another rack of weapons and began to look through the other blades available before the bucktoothed merchant came back with a roar.

"WORTHLESS?! You call a sword made by a world famous mage WORTHLESS?!"

Ryu turned back around with an outright furious look on his face and quickly closed the distance between himself and the shopkeeper till their faces stood nose-to-nose against each other. "I call a sword made out of a soft, heavy metal worthless. I call something made for hanging over someone's mantlepiece and impressing guests worthless! I CALL YOU TRYING TO SUCKER ME WITH A SWORD NEVER MEANT FOR THE BATTLEFIELD _**WORTHLESS!**_"

All throughout the exchange the busty beauty watched silently as her new love interest verbally put the Fear of Brimir into the shopkeeper. The shell-shocked merchant fell backwards onto the floor begging forgiveness for his actions, before Kirche finally found her voice again. "Darling, why are you so angry?"

The G-cyborg took several breaths to calm his temper before answering. "I think... It's the whole situation we're in right now. Ever since Louise was taken, I've been feeling this- this _tugging _from deep inside. Last night was a bear to deal with, since all I could think about was that Louise got into trouble, and I wasn't there to help. And now today, the farther we get from the Academy, the worse it's becoming. I can kind of ignore it, but with this guy trying to pull a fast one on us... I just found a stress target and pounced, I guess."

Just then a voice rang out across the room. "Guess that'll teach ya to sell useless things, eh?"

The sword seller suddenly became very pale before he shouted at a barrel in the far corner of the store. "Shut up, Derf!"

The sound of a voice seemingly from nowhere was enough to get even Tabitha's attention as the dude from another dimension walked over to it's source. When he turned back around he held an old, rusty blade in his hand... which started talking. "Well, well! A user after all this time! You need to give that face back to whoever you stole it from, it's much too kind looking for you!"

Ryu blinked, and started laughing. "And what about you? You're so rusty you could give someone lockjaw just by touching you!"

The sword gave off a cackle of its own, part of the handguard moving in time with the syllables. "I like you, Bro. Hot temper and a good sense of humor. Buy me from this loser already so we can be partners!"

"Sounds good to me. How much for this one, Hoss?"

"Please, just take it. It's the least I can do, my lord. Had I known I was dealing with a renowned Noble Officer, I would've shown you much more practical weapons for your discerning taste." The rat faced man continued to prostrate himself before Ryu, which started to put a bad taste in the Texan's mouth.

For the next few minutes, the merchant heard some muted conversation before the sword he tried to sell was placed down beside him. The door to his shop finally closed and he chanced to look up... and noticed a check good for 300 New Gold sitting on top of the faux blade. "Huh... what an odd Nobleman."

* * *

The trio headed back to where Tabitha's dragon was waiting for them, while Kirche continued to grill her love interest over that sudden display of anger. "Honestly, what was all that about back there? You explode into anger over that shopkeeper trying to sell us a very pretty weapon, then you cow that man into giving us a rare Intelligent Sword for free, yet you ask me to pay for his time?"

Suddenly the redhead stopped dead in her tracks as a thought struck her. "No, it couldn't be."

Ryu and Tabitha turned back to see Kirche shivering slightly, as if she saw a ghost. "Darling... don't tell me... Louise is your lover also?!"

Suddenly the Texan found himself under the hot glares of both girls. He sighed before beginning to explain his behavior. "She isn't, Kirche. You wouldn't catch me dead trying to date a pair of women at the same time like that. I just... I have a soft spot for the little squirt, that's all."

He paused in his explaining to look at the runes etched on his left hand. "Or... is it?"

Thinking back over his own actions since he woke up, the Texan could indeed admit he was behaving typically for someone who knew his lover was in danger. But the youngest Valliere _wasn't_ his lover. As long as she looked like a little kid to his eyes, the closest thing you could get to that level of affection was as a sister figure. '_But what if the runes are changing that for me? When Saito had this, it was simple for the runes to influence his behavior to be more sympathetic to his mistress. Ugh... I don't wanna fall for that loli body of hers!' _

Just then the voice of Ryu's new sword chimed in the conversation. "When a mage is in danger, it's the familiar's instinct to protect them. My partner is under the same compulsion, most likely."

The explanation seemed to mollify both girls well enough, and the trio resumed the trek back to the Academy.

* * *

As we flew back to the Academy on Silpheed, I couldn't help but think about what just happened back in town. Even _if _it was like Derf thought, and all I was feeling was the natural compulsion of a Familiar, my behavior wasn't normal today. Biggest example so far: my reaction to that shopkeeper. I bullied him. Scared the crap out of him. Why? I had a feeling he was gonna pull crap like what I know of in canon, so why? What did he do that I wasn't expecting, that managed to piss me off that badly?

Ever since I was a kid, I hated being angry. I hated that heat deep in my core that made my body and mind sharp as steel for the few moments I was that way - and afterwards, when the feeling passed and I settled back down, the guilt at getting that way in the first place. Like my heart was trying to shame me into not doing it the next time. As I got into highschool, I tried to systematically remove the impetus to anger as best I could. It worked, mostly, but at the same time I wasn't as passionate about things as I otherwise could be. So with prodding from my friends, I finally quit repressing my anger, hoping for the best. But I'm a soldier in G-command now, I'm supposed to _protect _people, not threaten them!

Was it because of the Gandalfr runes? That would explain the stuff last night, but not anything else... what could it be then?

_**Perhaps answers will come with enough time. **_I jerked my head up, looking for the source of the voice before the memories came back to me. _Gah, don't scare me like that Primus... Thought I was losing it.'_

_**Given how many times in your memory that you've claimed insanity, I find that statement somewhat hollow.**_

After the whole dream meet-up last night, the whole of Cybertron himself and I had managed to form something of an acquaintanceship with each other. Now, through a sort of Spark-to-Spark contact, he could experience my world through my mind and senses. And of course the neat IM thing we can now do!

_**Actually, I have begun to hypothesise that perhaps there might be ways to preserve the conduit that connects the two of us. After you woke and severed communication, I found that the deterioration had slowed while we were in contact. And as of 13.385 seconds after establishing the current link, the decay rate is again slowing. Are you aware of what this could mean?**_

I smirked before answering. _Yeah, this'll be bigger than the microchip. I'm real excited, Egon.'_

I felt a mirthful chuckle in the back of my mind that made me smile in turn. _**Perhaps it will. In any case, I shall begin to experiment with our link to discover what other abilities may be possible. Hopefully, I can discover a way to maintain the connection indefinitely. **_

I blinked while trying to muddle through that thought. _Uh... stupid question: Why? I thought we'd be hanging out mentally for a month or so then go our separate ways._

There was a long pause of anything from Primus before he replied. _**Do you know why I chose to shut down my higher logic functions?**_

_Not offhand, no._

_**Power drain. After my battle to seal away my counterpart, Unicron, I discovered that I did not have the power generation capability for my sons as well as my complete self for an indefinite period of time. But knowing my sons could pilot me into battle, I trusted them to govern themselves as I shut down enough higher level systems to meet the demand. Through the link, I am capable of running at maximum capacity for the first time in several billion years. I should not have to explain why that would seem desirable to me.**_

I thought about it then smiled. _I understand, Primus. Do what you gotta do, big bot._

* * *

Hours after all the human members of the Robo Corps regained consciousness, Professor Shishio called everyone into one of the main storage rooms that he had converted into an ad hoc meeting hall. Once all were in attendance, the geriatric genius climbed up atop a large crate and began speaking.

"I'm sure you all are having the same question running through your minds: 'How do we get out of here?' Well, thanks to the info provided by Guy, we now have a way to do just that!" The elderly scientist chuckled inside as the faces of all in the in the room began to brighten. Made all those hours working on the plan worth it. "Using the Dividing Driver that we managed to mostly salvage after the last big battle, the plan is that we prematurely rupture this ES window, allowing us to exit into normal space - said space being our own universe, if all goes well."

The eldest Shishio began to detail his plan for the GGG's escape. "Since time is of the essence, everyone that can hold a wrench is at this moment deputized into the Science Department. The majority of you will assist Hyuuma and Stallion in dismantling the remains of the Ryu Series and the other Robots. Guy, you're with me. We have to see how much of Genesic is still operational as well as show you how the Dimensional Jump program works. The rest will work with Ushiyama to refit and repair the Dividing Driver."

Everyone began dividing up into their assigned groups as instructed. With the ES Window liable to burst at any time, they had to work fast.

Good Luck, Brave Ones.

* * *

Back at the Academy, a certain brown haired maid was getting help from a certain peace loving gunman. Teana was choosing to be optimistic over how the day's events would conclude and in turn wanted to create an amazing feast for all involved once it was all over. To do so, she would need a few special ingredients from town which the Humanoid Typhoon was all too happy to get for her. The fact he was hoping to get closer to the cute maid was beside the point.

"Ahh, what a great place this is! Such amazing weather, and not a grain of sand for miles!" The blond gunman's mood was jovial as he headed through the market square, reading and collecting items from the list he had prepared earlier.

But as he was gathering ingredients, someone else was doing a bit of gathering as well in a nearby back alley. Grissom the Avalanche had been trying his best to put his hair into some semblance of order as one of his lackeys ran up. Dressed in a dark brown tunic and grey pantaloons, the sandy blond thief gave a toothy grin. "Sir! Pickin's is quite good today! And Felix jus' saw some tall blond fellow start buying up all the real pricey foods one after anodder. 'E's a good mark, I'm thinkin'."

The fallen nobleman smirked before replying. "Normally I wouldn't take you at your word, Schmidt, but you _have _been rather accurate these last few days. Show me this mark of yours."

The two of them moved to the opening to the street, and the surly thief pointed at Vash who had just snagged one of the last two items needed for the feast. "'At's the one, sir. Blond fellow wit the big red coat."

The dark-haired Avalanche quickly sized up his subject, before nodding. "Yes, he certainly does look to be of wealth, if that leather coat is any indication. Enchanted, as well. See what you can 'liberate' from his person, my good man."

Schmidt made his way to the current target and did his thing, slipping a hand unseen into the coat pocket of the blond gunman while he seemed distracted by a cute salesgirl hawking some pottery. When he returned, he held a silver pistol with an elongated barrel. "Fancy lookin' gun, eh?"

The fallen nobleman grinned slightly. "That it is. Perhaps to the right-"

Grissom trailed off as he had a better look at the firearm, noticing the build and various metallic parts. "Schmidt... This is no ordinary pistol."

Opening the cylinder, the mage removed one of the rounds and focused his Will into it. What he perceived was more than enough to put the deposed nobleman on edge. Self-contained ammunition? Multiple shots?! No ordinary noble would even _need_ such an advanced weapon. The show of wealth in the market. His opulent clothes. And now this weapon... put everything together-

"An assassin. Is he from Albion?! Or an enforcer from the young Queen?"

The scientific mage was so wrapped up in his thoughts that he barely noticed his companion starting to gibber as if the devil himself had just walked up to them. At that point an unfamiliar voice passed his ears. "Hey guys, mind if I get my gun back?"

Grissom's face turned ashen, before slowly turning towards the owner of the voice fearing the worst. Sure enough, the blond man from before was standing in front of the two thieves. The shadows from the morning sun cast the tall gunslinger in a fearsome image, not that it would have taken much to do that to the now panicking earth mage. "Schmidt... I must ask one last favor from you."

"Yea, Boss?" The burly burglar looked like he would soil himself at any moment.

"T-take this weapon... and slowly, _carefully_... distract him so I have a chance to flee!" The Avalanche tossed the gun to his lackey and took off as fast as his legs could carry him.

"You wish, Gov'ner! Wait for me!" Schmidt ran after his boss, with Vash hurrying right behind.

* * *

Around the same time as this world's most recent Benny Hill chase, Louise, Siesta and Galeon were making their way back towards the Magic Academy. Topography and Navigation had yet to be covered in the curriculum, but that didn't stop Galeon from following the energies of Ryu's G-stone back their source.

As the trio traveled on, the two Noblewomen were continuing to tell stories of their lives and homes. "-naturally the Zerbst have been vying for our land and lives for ages now, and might have succeeded had Father not married Mother. In the last war, Mother fought a whole regiment of Germanian forces and won, all by herself!"

The young Valliere gave a sigh as she thought of her family. "I don't know how I might face them after this. Getting abducted by that thief, barely having any control over my magic, and to top it all off, summoning that crazy, rebellious familiar of mine!"

The ebon haired mage winced at her travel mate's self deprecation and quickly decided a change of topic was in order. "Miss Valliere, have you ever heard stories of the Guardian of Tarbes?"

Louise had heard of Tarbes, of course. Any Noble or merchant worth their salt knew of the prosperous city that mined those gems found nowhere else in the world. But a Guardian? "Is that the title for some hero of yours? Or some kind of protective construct?"

Siesta thought about it for a moment before smiling. "Actually, it's a little of both. Around 80 years ago, when my great-grandfather had begun to earn his fortune, a gang of marauders came. It was a terrible slaughter, and with Great-grandfather and his son away on business, it seemed that Tarbes would be destroyed in a single night."

The young Gardenia shuddered a bit, getting into the spirit of the tale being told, before continuing. "But then, a great force burst free from the gem mines and raced towards the city! Many who were children at the time remember seeing an armored red carriage charge the robbers and... _change. _Its body folded and shifted around itself until it stood as a man, as tall as a house and half as broad. The attacking band flung volley after volley of arrows at it, only to watch them bounce away without doing any damage!"

Siesta was fully engrossed in her storytelling now, acting out much of what she could see in her mind's eye. "The raiders then drew swords and axes and clubs on it, but that was also no match for its armored hide. Like a child playing roughly with his toys, the Guardian picked up each of its attackers and flung them aside, frightening the remainder into retreat! Tarbes was saved!"

The pinkette was smiling as her travel mate seemed to see herself right there at battle's end, cheering her champion like her ancestors had done. "Where is this 'Guardian' right now?"

"Still in Tarbes. It refuses to go further than the gem mines, and seems to be protecting something buried deep inside. But it won't say what it is, and after all its years of keeping the city safe, we're content to let secrets lie. It asks for nothing else, so how can we in good conscience refuse?" The ebon haired noble began walking again, with her arms crossed and deep in thought. "Many wonder what it is guarding, and I confess even I am a bit curious about it myself."

Louise duplicated her travel mate's posture, thinking about it herself. "Perhaps it is some kind of treasure? Shouldn't an Earth mage be capable of controlling such a creature, even if its made of metal and not stone?"

"Grandfather tried once, but all he earned was a laugh from the Guardian for his trouble. If it is a golem, it's a kind so alive it cannot be controlled the normal way."

With that, the pair continued to follow their robot guide towards home.

* * *

_'Almost noon. Finally I can put the hurt on that damn thief for kidnapping Louise. But on that note...' _ The Texan's voice finished up his thoughts for him. "Where the Frak is Vash?!"

The group consisting of Kirche, Tabitha, Ryu, Miss Longueville, and Lady Gardenia had assembled in Vestri Court before heading on to the meeting place and the rescue mission. Professor Colbert was there also, though he wouldn't be joining the rescue effort, securing the large locked container that held the Great Lance onto the cart that would carry them on their way. All that remained to appear was the Humanoid Typhoon, who had gone into town quickly to get some ingredients for something Teana was cooking up in the kitchen.

But it was looking like Vash would be late in returning, which in turn was making the dude from another dimension increasingly stir crazy. "Stupid, womanizing fern. Out trying to earn cool points while Louise is stuck who-knows-where..."

"You need to calm yourself, Sir Ryu. I am certain your friend will be back soon enough," came the soothing reply from Siesta's mother. Ryu turned her way to reply, but halted as he noticed something red clear the forest line encircling the Academy. As it moved closer to the main gate, the blob shifted into a person wearing a familiar red coat.

"Finally." The Texan broke into a jog so he could get first crack at chewing out Vash and the reasoning for his tardiness.

The man once known as Flame Snake finished buckling the last strap around the crate and gave a relieved sigh. "Hopefully now you can get underway without anymore distractions. Please bring back Miss Valliere and Miss Siesta safely."

The young Gallian and Germanian both nodded, and Kirche opened her mouth to say something but was preempted as a sharp cry cut across the field. "WHADDYA MEAN '_YOU LOST YOUR GUN_'?!"

* * *

Minutes afterward, the group was finally on its way to Prism Rock. Ryu, Kirche and Tabitha were seated on the left side of the cart, Lady Fara and Vash on the right. As the cart moved forward, guided by sure hands of the Headmaster's Secretary, the blond gunman related his tale to the others.

"So anyway, after I felt my gun being moved, I gave the two guys a few minutes before I confronted them about it. And for some reason, they both panicked and ran like I was some kind of monster!" The Humanoid Typhoon focused on a section of his coat that been ripped up, but was slowly mending itself. "I chased after the guy that had my gun first, trying to outpace him, but he knew the alleyways better than me and I lost sight of him. Seconds after that happened, I caught up to the other guy and chased after him."

The Texan resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "And how did you get the crap kicked out of you, man?"

Upon hearing the question, Vash flushed and scratched the back of his head. "W-well, ya see... When the two of us cleared the alleyway, there were these guards on the other side. They kinda thought _I _was the thief and-"

Ryu's right hand clapped against his forehead in frustration. "And they chased you. And more guards got in on it. _And _if I know you like I _think _I know you, you passed close enough to the palace that you drew the attention of the elite guards there, which is when things got _real _interesting..."

Sweat rolled down everyone else's faces as the blond gunman's lit up in surprise. "Hey that's right! How'd you know?"

A moment of silence passed by before Tabitha summarized things with her usual flair. "Bad luck."

Suddenly Miss Longueville added her own voice to the conversation. "I cannot believe it..."

The Texan chuckled and turned towards the earth mage. "No, that's pretty much par for the course where Vash is concerned."

"No, I mean I can't believe what's ahead of us."

Everyone turned their attention to what was ahead of them just in time to see Siesta and Louise calmly walk around the bend in the road and into view.

* * *

The moment I saw that familiar pink head of hers, I felt that damnable tugging in my mind shut off like someone had flipped a switch. Seconds later I rushed from the cart, ran over to the startled little pinkette and scooped her up in a tight hug before anyone could tell me otherwise. I couldn't see her face, but I figured she was blushing quite a bit since the stutters had started from her. "L-l-l-let go! Let go of me th-th-this instant, you-you silly hound of a familiar!"

I paused for a second, not moving from my position of my chin laying on top of Louise's head with my arms bundled tight around her upper body, before answering. "Don't wanna."

"WHA-wh-w-w-w-why?! People are staring!" She squirmed, trying to pull out of my grasp. I wasn't sure, but I think she was starting to nibble on me a bit.

"Been worried and panicky about you since yesterday. Holding you is making me feel better, so you're just gonna have to deal." I smiled, content with the simple bliss of knowing my little Miss was whole and hale.

A gentle cough from the side made me turn around only to see Kirche and Tabitha staring at me with rather focused expressions. "Darling, is there _something_ you need to tell me?"

I blinked. "Huh? About what?"

The bluenette pointed her staff at Louise and myself. "Intimate."

My mind blanked out as I tried to process why that would be wrong. I suddenly shook my head once it came to me. "Oh. Right. Sorry Kir, I- I dunno what came over me."

I was in something of a daze as my grip loosened, but quickly came back to reality once Louise took advantage and nailed me clean between the legs with a well placed kick. Pain that few other nerves could generate rang through my head like a gong while the pinkette added to it with her shouting. "You-you-YOU...! Th-there's just no word in the world to describe how shameless you are!"

While I was rebooting my brain and Louise was tearing into me some more, Kirche finally came to my defense. "Was that really necessary, Valliere?! What if you damaged something vital down there?"

"And just _what_ could be vital for... you...?" As the mage-in-training watched my favorite redhead fuss over me, helping me stand, so many things clicked into place for her. "you... _y-you... __**YOOOUUU**__!"_

Before anyone could stop her, Louise had crossed the distance and actually managed to belt me across the jaw as hard as her tiny body would allow. My head snapped back as I fell to the ground in surprise. Kiddo can hit when she wants to. But the pinkette was paying for it this time as she cradled her swollen hand and wrist, while I tried to get the birdies to stop flying around my head. "SeeEEee Kir? TooOOoold you she'd be pissed. Ow."

As my team circled around me to see what they could do to help, Lady Fara had stepped in to heal Louise's injury. A few minutes passed before Louise spoke again. "So _this _is your supposed dog-like loyalty? One flash of a big chest is all it takes to have you wagging your tail to her tune?"

I blinked, then lifted my head from the ground before supporting my upper body on my elbows. I finally noticed Galeon as he padded up next to her. Damn, poor guy looked like he went ten rounds with a trash compactor... "What are you talking about Louise?"

Kirche knelt next to me and spoke up. "Her family and mine have been bitter rivals for generations. She's probably lamenting the fact that, once again, a Zerbst has outdone a Valliere in keeping a man's attention."

I looked at her like she'd grown a second head. "Why does that matter here?"

"W-well, obviously you've chosen my family over hers."

I frowned. "I'm dating _you_, not your family, Kir. And just because I am, that doesn't mean I'm gonna take one side or another in anyone's family feud. I wasn't born to this world's politics, nor do I intend to become a part of them. I'm Louise's _partner_, which means I help her, and she helps me. Not her Family, _her_. End Of Story. And if that's too much for you to handle, we need to end it right here." The busty beauty's eyes widened, before narrowing dangerously at me.

I ignored the gaze as I got to my feet and walked over to Louise, who was flexing her now healed hand and trying her best to ignore me from where she sat on the ground. I rolled my eyes and simply grabbed the collar of her mantle, pulled her up to a standing position and looked her in the eye. "And as for you, young lady, who I associate with is my business and mine alone. If I want to cultivate a relationship with someone, it is _not _up for discussion by committee."

The pinkette huffed and turned away at the same time Kirche did, causing me to roll my eyes. "Well, now that _that _bit of drama is done with, what should we do now? We were going to rescue the girls, and they found a way out themselves. I'm happy to call it here, unless someone has a better idea?"

Vash was the first one to speak. "I wouldn't mind heading back. I kinda missed lunch."

"Ambush," came Tabitha's answer from behind a book she had pulled out when the argument started.

"Either path works for me, Sir Ryu," Miss Longueville spoke while checking the harnesses for the horses. "I'll go with whatever the group decides."

Siesta's mother piped in suddenly. "I agree with Miss Tabitha. Fouquet will most likely head to the Academy for another attack should we fail to appear. Furthermore, if we surprise the thief with the girls safely in our care, it might give us an opportunity to capture her alive."

I started to nod before I noticed something. "Wait a minute, _'her'_? How do you know Fouquet is a girl?"

The Academy healer actually smirked slightly before replying. "I was there during the attack on the Academy. Anyone who heard that thief shouting could tell that was a woman's voice speaking."

I shrugged, made sense to me. "Okay then, so that's two for leaving, two for fighting, one abstain aaand-" I looked to Louise and Kirche, both of them now wielding cross expressions in my direction. "Two that are still mad at me. Looks like you're the tiebreaker, Siesta. What'll it be?"

The ebony-haired mage seemed to give it much thought before answering. "We should fight. Fouquet's going to be a problem no matter when we face her. At least this way, we can minimize any danger to others by fighting her in an isolated setting."

"Sounds like a plan. Let's move 'em out, people!" Everyone started to get back on the cart to resume the trip, but I quickly pulled Louise to the side. "Louise, before we get going, I have something to ask you."

"I'm not speaking to you right now." She cutely turned her head away and was about to walk on when I jogged into her path, cutting her off.

"Then just nod. I need to know if C.D.'s with you."

She stiffened for a second, before walking around me and getting back onto the cart. "It's gone. Fouquet took it."

She did, eh? _Perfect._ ~_C.D., You there?~_

Everyone else was in the carriage and moving on as I felt the internal wireless switch on. ~_**I was wondering if you'd ever make contact, Pilot. I'm detecting you 8 meters from my position and moving away.**_~

I smirked as I started jogging to catch up to the cart. _~Figured as much. Which one are you with?~_

~_**Were I equipped with eyes I would be able to answer that question, Pilot. Speakers are currently disabled, shall I reactivate?**_~

_~Wait for my signal. I wanna enjoy this, after all the worry that bitch put me through.~ _

I broke into a run overtaking the cart, then called for it to halt. "Guys, I've got some good news!" Once everyone came to a complete stop, I continued. "Here's the deal: When Louise and Siesta were captured before, C.D. was taken from them. But C.D's still active _and _I just re-established contact with 's still wearing him, and she's _right here._"

Everyone stared at me wide eyed as I soaked in the attention. Ahh, this was gonna be sweet! "And now, the Unmasking!"

I struck a heroic pose and pointed a finger straight at Miss Longueville. "Alright C.D., Who's the Mole?!"

_**It would be this one. **_ Wait a minute, was that from my le-?!

A sudden blast of air flung me hard into a nearby tree, as an enormous golem burst from the ground underneath the cart holding the container for the Lance in the left hand, and its controller in the right. Everyone else scattered away from the ruined transport as the spooked horses fled for the hills.

"This should teach me to wear strange devices that I know little about." Lady Fara fluffed her hair out from her position next to right of the golem's head. She then pulled back the sleeves of her dress, revealing both the Control Device and a strange gold bracer with various gems set into it. "But it doesn't matter. Now that I have _this_, I can finally have my revenge!"

I peeled myself off of the oak I slammed into, giving the real Fouquet a growl as I got to my feet. "Don't count your treasures before they're stolen, Fouquet!"

* * *

_Team Tristain vs. Fouquet, the Crumbling Dirt!_

_Duel 1!_

_LET'S ROCK!_

* * *

I just managed to dodge the stone fist sent my way as the brawl began, wincing slightly as a bit of shrapnel whizzed by my ear as the golem hit the ground I had been standing on. Fouquet was keeping the others from trying to flank the big guy by sending massive waves of water and wind against them. Tabitha and Kirche quickly found cover behind some tall brush and responded in kind, the Germanian with several Fireballs and the bluenette with Windy Icicles.

A shield of Air surrounded the construct forcing the spells to shatter against it harmlessly. "Ha ha ha! Is this bracer not amazing?" Lady Fara giggled as she pulled magic from each of the four tiers flinging them at us at random. "A simple twist of the dial, and I'm a master of Air, or Earth! Haha, Even Fire!"

She then emphasized that fact by shifting the gems to the ruby side, filling her hand with flames and sending them forth to carve a blazing trench through the dense forest cover on the right side of the road. The thief quickly adjusted the bracer towards the topaz before funneling her will into the golem, forcing it to grow slightly and move forward through the still burning trench until it broke through into an open hilly field. Once her vision was cleared of trees and brush, Fouquet continued attacking with better aim while her golem kept us from trying to get in melee range.

_'We've gotta get that thing off of her or we're all gonna be cooked alive!' _I was straining my brain for an answer as I ducked under a dip in the landscape seconds before a wave of stone flew above my head. Whipping my sight around, I tried to get a head count of everybody hoping no one was hurt yet. '_Okay, Kir and Tabby are still providing cover fire, looks like Matilda's joined 'em. Siesta's staying out of the way by the treeline. Vash is... being a target apparently.' _

I winced as said gunman just barely missed a gout of fire only to be blasted by the pressure wave the attack gave off as it detonated, flinging him into some of the scarce brush that littered the field._ 'If he had his gun this'd be over in minutes, maybe with my armor... Louise! Where is she?!'_

I dunno how Derf knew, but he had answered my unspoken question seconds after I thought of it. "Hey Partner, you might wanna stop that bossy girl from being mashed."

My fear crystallized as I jerked my vision back to the golem, only to see Louise running straight at it! Before I could even _think _of screaming at her to get clear, she pointed a slightly curved stick that she must've found and levitated several rocks into the air. They flew towards the earthen construct and shattered against its hide uselessly. Everything seemed to come to a halt as Fouquet started laughing gaily while her golem moved up towards the young mage-in-training. "Throwing rocks at a _golem_. That- ha ha, that has to be the most unique way to fail at a task that I have ever witnessed."

We were just... watching as that big ol pile of rocks raised a hand to crush the pinkette in a single blow. It might've happened had Derf not screamed in my ear to get me moving again. I quickly drew the talking sword from his scabbard and let the runes give me the speed I needed to intercept the attack. But even though I blocked the earthen fist from coming down on my Little Miss, that was _all _I was able to do at the moment as I put all my available strength towards holding the fist at bay. Why... is this... _so __**heavy**_?!

I screamed at Louise to get clear so I could do the same. I didn't hear anything for a moment until another rock flew over my head and hit the to golem in the arm. "GO AWAY! This is my fight!"

Is. SHE. _KIDDING?! _

"Louise, what are you talking about?!" I craned my neck backward as best I could, only to see the pinkette holding her makeshift wand in a white-knuckled grip, her face quivering slightly. "I won't lose! I can't lose! Not to Fouquet, not to that Zerbst witch, and _especially not to __**you**__!_"

_'Me? Why would...?'_ Suddenly the golem's fist pulled back, allowing me to notice it trying to bring it down harder on me. Taking a chance, I scooped up Louise in my arms and hightailed it away from the earthen construct just as the fist impacted where we had both been seconds before. I darted back behind the dip in the field I had been hiding in and let go of my wriggling cargo, just before she slugged me again. My head tilted to the side with the blow as I let my frustration at the current state of affairs dilute the pain. "How many times are you gonna do that Louise?"

"J-just go away! I don't need you anymore! There's no point in having a familiar that doesn't listen!" She turned away and began sniffling while I looked on in growing concern. "It... i-it's not f-f-fair. M-my Familiar does w-w-what he wants without saying a word to m-me. My magic's useless in a real fight. B-but you can fight monsters, thieves, and mages and win all the time! Why bother with a mage at all if the familiar _is so much __**better**__ in __**EVERY WAY**_!"

Her resolve shattered at that point as she began crying in earnest now. Behind me, it sounded like slabs of rock were crashing together, but all I could see was Louise bawling out her frustrations at the world. I couldn't help but fall back on old habits I scooped up the young noble into my arms and held her close. She struggled a bit, then just fell into the embrace still continuing to weep.

"It's more than fighting that makes a mage, Kiddo. And honestly, I'm not as perfect as you might think. If I were, I'd have probably seen what I was doing to you while trying to thank Tabitha for her help in that last fight. But I didn't. I didn't even realize that my armor and my fighting ability would make you think you were more inadequate than you already felt." The sniffles has ceased, and it seemed like she was calming down, so I kept going. "But you've forgotten something important Louise. You've already proven stronger than me. The only question is whether you can do it again."

"...y-y-you're lying... N-name one thing I outdid you at. O-one!"

I smirked lightly. "Revan."

She turned to me with a tear-streaked face that held a slowly hardening expression. "Explain."

"I had Revan on the ropes that night, but he turned the tables so suddenly with that robot ally of his. _You_ stopped him, drove him off with an amazing new magic I doubt anyone had ever seen before then. The strongest mages in the Academy couldn't do it and neither could I, but you _did_."

Louise's eyes fell before responding. "Just a fluke then."

I thought for a second before speaking again. "Yes, it is."

The pinkette's eyes jerked upward to meet mine suddenly as I kept speaking. "Anything done is a fluke until you do it again. And there's a reason for that, Louise. It's so that you deal with the most difficult time right away, and can then take the knowledge of that first success into whatever you do next, even if it's something completely different than what you did before. That's how you gain confidence in yourself and your skills, Little Miss."

I used my thumb to wipe away the tear tracks on her face. "_You _can make magic now. It's just beginning, but you can. And right now, _I _need _your_ help. As long as C.D. is on Fouquet's wrist I can't use my armor. The others can't stop her either, so it's now up to you. Now is the time to prove that Louise de la Valliere didn't just fluke out a few days ago!"

Louise kept looking straight at me with wide eyes as I stood up and took hold of Derf again. "I'll give you the time you need, if you think you're up to this. What say you, Little Miss?"

My answer came from my G-stone flaring to light without my input moments before she started talking. "The only real Nobles are those who never run away... so I suggest you take that rusty sword of yours and distract that thief, you silly dog!"

I blinked, then grinned at the serious look her face had, before turning around and dashing back into the fray.

* * *

As the Texan rejoined the fight, the Headmaster's Secretary began outdoing her opponent's raw power with her superior experience in handling a Golem. The two constructs traded fierce blows with one another, chunks of their bodies raining down around them only to be replaced by the earth nearby. Which was when Ryu slipped in and began hacking at Fouquet's Golem to help give Miss Longueville the upper hand. With the double-teaming underway, Kirche and Tabitha took to the air on Sylpheed and were circling the battlefield looking for an opportunity to strike.

"Fouquet _must _be getting tired by now, right Tabitha?" The Germanian had a light sweat on her brow, the strain of casting so many spells showing despite her resolve. "She's been casting far longer than the rest of us have."

The bluenette held the same somber expression she always did, but it was hard to ignore the slight flush on her face. "Unknown."

As the young dragon began another loop around the battlefield, Kirche noticed something new. "Tabitha, does it look to you like one of the golems are shrinking?"

Tabitha focused on the battle below, just in time for the golem under the healer-turned-thief's control to enlarge suddenly, crushing it's opponent's fists in it's own along with the rest of the construct after. The green-haired mage quickly levitated herself away from her doomed ally, but as soon as she landed on the ground, she collapsed.

Taking that as her cue, the busty beauty wasted no time powering up a Fire spell and sending the searing gout at her foe. The dark haired assailant responded with a blast of flame as well, and the two waves collided in midair amidst a deafening boom. For an instant, it looked as if the flames would detonate one another, but then Fouquet's attack turned back on itself and returned to it's source taking all of Kirche's with it.

An instant later, the Germanian pitched forward into her riding partner forcing Tabitha to adjust to keep them steady. The bluenette managed to turn herself around to get a better hold on Kirche, only to realize the flame tressed mage was out cold. The Snowy Wind suddenly thought back to the odd exchanges just then as a possibility came to her lips. "...bracer..."

And at the same time, Fouquet herself was coming to grips with what she just stole as the ruby embedded in her bracer continued to glow brightly. "Wha-what just happened?"

_**Active Drain has been engaged, Mistress.**_

The raven-haired noblewoman turned her eyes down to the jeweled device about her wrist with growing concern. "D-did you just speak?" She asked in a quiet, shaken tone.

_**Yes, Mistress. This unit was set to Silent Assist mode unless Active Drain was required to preserve User mana levels. Enemy combatants now total one Wind/Water combination user Triangle-class, and one Void user Special-class. Exercise extreme caution.**_

Before the healer-turned-thief could comment on _that_ bit of information, her golem mount suddenly lurched to the side as the dude from another dimension managed to take a good chunk out of it's left leg. The Texan ducked a swipe from the construct as it stabilized itself, then used Derf to absorb a twin blast of fire and wind. "I'd focus more on the fight, less on the jewelry!"

Off to the side, Louise held her makeshift wand in one hand and had been randomly flicking her wand about trying to get any sort of reaction, to little avail. "Come - On - Stupid - Magic!"

She could feel it inside her, pulsing in time with her heart. She knew it was there! But _why _wouldn't it respond?! The pinkette turned to where Ryu continued distracting their opponent, idly wondering how much longer her familiar could keep dodging, slicing, and fighting like he was. The answer to that question arrived at the same time Vash managed to run up to the young mage-in-training.

As the blond gunman stumbled up and began to ask what she was doing, a scream from nearby drew their attention. Around the construct was a slowly melting layer of ice on the ground, Derf laying embedded in the ground, and the Texan was in it's left hand, slowly being squeezed to death. The Humanoid Typhoon gained wings on his feet as he dashed toward Fouquet and began pleading for his friend's life. "There's no need for this sort of thing! We can discuss this calmly!"

The healer turned thief merely responded by willing her golem to increase the pressure on its captive, making the dude from another dimension scream out in pain again. "Va-AAAH-sssh! Stop trying to reason with the psycho witch and pull some heroic badassery already!"

"_Witch?!_ How dare you! You will wish he had reasoned with me once I've pulped you into a fine paste!" The fist tightened again and Ryu yelled at a much higher pitch before his head slumped forward.

This played out before Louise's eyes, and something stirred within her. All other thoughts inside her mind became quiet as she focused on the one who had turned her world upside down. That stupid familiar. He _swore _that he could distract Fouquet and keep himself out of trouble. That stupid, _stupid, __**STUPID...!**_

The twig in her hand suddenly snapped in half under her grip as an aura of power surrounded the young Valliere, lifting her hair up on an invisible breeze. The irises of her red eyes glowed with incandescent light, drawing the attention of everyone on the field. Raising a single hand palm up, her hand twinged and the now familiar sphere of blackened light appeared. "You have my familiar in your golem's hand. **Release him.**"

Before anyone could do anything, Louise launched her attack at the stone arm still holding the cargo everyone had been fighting over, shattering the arm into gravel and the case to splinters. Two more shots in succession pulverized the other arm and the main body, flinging Ryu and Fouquet clear with the concussive wave. The dude from another dimension crashed to the ground in a boneless heap while the healer turned thief floated down to land gracefully.

What had been inside the case banged and clanged onto the ground nearby, allowing Vash to get a good look at it for the first time. "Wait a minute, we've been lugging something like _that _across creation like this?"

The Texan slowly picked himself up off the grass while the two magic users faced off with one another to resume the battle. "I-I'd show you what it does, but I don't think I'll get the chance this chapter."

Back where the fourth wall still stood unmarred, the young mage-in-training summoned another Spark and tossed it at her foe only to see it be absorbed into the onyx stone of the bracer. The stones then adjusted on their own til the black gem was at the apex. The healer turned thief then summoned her own version of a Crusher Spark and lobbed it back at the pinkette, who simply swatted the attack to the side allowing it to detonate harmlessly some distance away. "So that item of yours allows you to absorb our magic and reproduce it. I have a question for you then. 'Just **how** **much **can you **take**?'"

From her palm another sphere of darkness appeared, quickly growing to double its usual size. "**Catch**."

Fouquet managed to do so, but only after the blast forced her back several yards as it was absorbed into the device. The healer turned thief tried her best to match what had been sent, only to have the pinkette casually bat it aside once more.

Louise created another Spark and then proceeded to enlarge it until it was over ten times normal size, before repeating the process in her other hand. "While this might be seen as wasteful, I trust you understand the meaning of this **lesson**."

The light in the mage-in-training's eyes brightened slightly as a cruel smirk formed on her face. "**All who assault us... must DIE.**"

The twin blasts roared toward their target, merging partway and colliding with a barrier of Air that the raven haired mage desperately threw up. The fragile defense only lasted a moment before the Crusher Spark plowed through and started funneling into the onyx upon Fouquet's wrist. For a moment it seemed like the device might actually succeed in containing the attack, but then a jagged crack split the gem in half.

Then another crack appeared... then several more!

Finally, the device could no longer endure and detonated in a spectacular display along with what remained of Louise's attack. As it did so, the G-stone imbedded in Ryu's body suddenly flared to life, flashing so brightly even the dude from another dimension was stunned by the light. The force of the blast flung Lady Fara several yards away where she crashed flat on her back upon the ground. The arm that had once held the strange magical bracer had been consumed all the way up to the humerus, and what remained was charred and ragged. The defeated healer tried to move but her body could barely respond as the Void mage calmly walked up.

"**Interesting**. That was supposed to have **killed you**." Louise raised her hand to finish the job, only to have Vash and Ryu run in front to block her way.

"I think that's enough, Miss Louise. Fouquet can't hurt anyone at this point."

The Texan nodded in agreement with the blond gunman's words. "Yea kiddo, you toasted her good, so you can stop now."

The pinkette lowered her hand and stared at the two young men. "Why do **you **stop me? Her **death** is needed so the others know the consequence of hurting us. **They did not listen **when he spared the last one to **attack us**."

The dude from another dimension looked at his partner with a concerned expression. "Who is '_us_', Louise?"

Louise seemed to mull the question over in her mind before answering. "**We **are those that use **It**. But we do not speak to each other, we only know we **exist**."

"And what might _it _be?"

"**Void**. Before, It slept like the others and merely was, balanced by others and balancing others. It would choose ones to use It, and its influence was strong. One chose to take all of It for himself, and they that came after him. But **they came **and started killing us, the ones to come after him. At first it did not matter, more would always be born to take the place of those slain. But **we** were killed sooner and sooner, and It was used less and less."

The pinkette started to sway in place as the aura around her body began to dim. "It gave more to us so we could fight. One has finally **lived**, and now... I- I do... too..."

The young Valliere slumped to the ground dead asleep, leaving the two men wondering what just happened.

Finally, Ryu managed to speak up. "This has _got _to be a Thursday. Those always give me problems."

* * *

Ryu was able to digitize and store the Great Lance inside C.D. in the same way as the GaoMachines and his Guard armor, allowing for easy transport back to the Academy. And though it was a tight fit, everyone was soon on track for home on top of Sylpheed's back. Tabitha was in front making sure her familiar was flying the right way with Vash directly behind her enjoying the view. Miss Longueville and Kirche had revived somewhat and were helping each other stay balanced on the young dragon's back. Finally Siesta was sitting with her back to the Germanian's while tending to her mother's injuries while Ryu sat behind the defeated mage and started to question her on her motives. Louise, for her part, was snuggled comfortably in her familiar's arms dozing away.

"So why exactly did you go to all that trouble to get that thing anyway? It's not as if you could sell it..." The Texan grimaced as he glanced at the stump of Lady Gardenia's right arm. His dress shirt had been wrapped around it until a healer could regenerate the limb properly, and what little blood was draining from the wound had already turned the cloth dark crimson. '_Teana's gonna kill me when she sees what I did to that shirt. Especially after all the effort she put into mending it!'_

The defeated mage bit back a grunt of pain as she adjusted her seating, then began speaking. "My birth family once governed a small holding in Tristain, D'Angleterre, as well as a few mines and lumber mills around that town. It was... oh Founder, it had to have been a month at least before it happened... before some of our allies in the capital overheard talk of a plague in the wilderness to the northwest of us. Father immediately put guards to look for signs of disease in the forest, while Mother and I aided the healers in checking the townsfolk for any unusual symptoms."

Her gaze shifted to the right as her vision moved to another time and place. "For weeks, we all continued this vigil without end, even locking down D'Angleterre completely when news arrived of our neighbor's lands being put to the flame to prevent the illness from spreading further. Then, one night, the whole manor woke to an explosion in the courtyard of my home. Within moments, my home was engulfed by flames, and in the distance I could see that the town was as well. Father and Mother managed to get me out quickly enough, but almost as soon as they moved back inside to help my sister, the house-"

She stopped suddenly as the emotion of the terrible memory washed over her, forcing several tears down her cheeks. "No one else survived that night as far as I am aware."

Siesta took her mother's hand just then and grinned at the raven-haired healer. "I remember this part. Father and Grandfather were traveling at the time and found you on the side of the road unconscious. When you woke up next, you saw Father's face and fell so far in love with him that you married him that very day!"

Lady Gardenia's dour mood began to soften at her daughter's 'improvements' to the story. "Don't exaggerate, dear. It was more like a year after I met your father. But, I do confess that he cut quite a dashing figure back then. But after we had wed and my first son was born, one of my father's old retainers came to my door. He had survived the attack and had begun searching for clues as to the identity of the one or ones responsible for the massacre. By the time he had found where I had disappeared to, he found proof of the one responsible."

The Texan then raised his hand as if he were in a classroom with a scowl growing on his face. "So you've been holding on to a years-long grudge all this time? What about Siesta?!"

The raw heat displayed in Lady Fara's glare immediately shut the Texan's mouth with an audible click. "When my twin sons came into the world I questioned my right to pursue vengeance. When Siesta looked up at me for the first time I prayed for forgiveness from my sister, because I no longer felt that her death was worth seeking justice for. Do. You. _Understand_? _My children _are the reason I almost completely surrendered my want to destroy Cardinal Richemont."

Louise still slumbered peacefully, Vash was clueless about the man and Tabitha was an island of stability, so it's rather understandable that they didn't join in with everyone else in staring wide-eyed at their fallen opponent. The Texan's mind flashed to the memory of the corrupt Cardinal and his foiled bid for taking over Tristain in the Zero no Tsukaima anime and light novels. '_So that geriatric jackass was after more than just a rebellion suppressant this time around. Or was it _always_ a big part of why he staged the whole thing?'_

"I think I'm catching on. After the attack he and his conspirators divvy up the spoils amongst themselves and blame the losses on this 'plague'. No one's the wiser, and Richemont's got several loyal new _friends_." The G-cyborg's emphasis on the word was understood by Siesta's mother as she nodded grimly. "If you had found this out before you became a mama, you'd have prolly gone after that old fart and hang the consequences, but you _were._ You needed more than a plan, you needed a guarantee that you'd be able to get him and come back alive. That's where the so-called 'Great Lance' came into play, right?"

Lady Gardenia nodded once more. "Exactly as you have said. I discovered the bracer I had during one of my tours of duty at the vault when I had become curious as to what might be within. After discovering it's amazing powers, I began to plan for an assault on the Palace, but despaired once I realized how many I'd have to kill to get even a chance at finding him. I... I couldn't do it that way. Then I found out about the Lance and what it could supposedly do, it was almost as if the Founder had blessed my Crusade from the beyond. The real Fouquet had vanished into obscurity years ago, so by taking his name no one would be able to trace the assassination back to my husband and children."

Ryu gave a grin at that before he tapped a pair of buttons on C.D. and a holographic image of the Lance appeared before them. "Sorry to burst your bubble, but while this could do what you might've wanted, you'd've needed a G-Stone to power it."

Vash tilted his head back with an inquisitive look on his face. "What I don't get is why it looks like a giant screwdriver."

The dude from another dimension laughed. "Actually buddy, it's called the Dividing Driver. Ironically, the version built to fit my suit. That wacky portal in the Vault must've locked onto G-Command's armory and pulled it through somehow."

* * *

Chapter End.


End file.
